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The
Family Mental Health Institute is a non-profit 501(c)3
organization
incorporated in Washington, D.C. It has led the way in
developing
and implementing programs that help women who suffer from
perinatal
depression.
The Washington Psychiatric Foundation, parent of the
Family Mental
Health Institute, has been involved in early mental
illness intervention
for women, community organization and public and
professional education
since its inception in 1989.
One of the institute’s first initiatives was a program of
early
intervention for at-risk children in the Washington, D.C.,
public
schools called “First Chance.” This program was the basis
for a
school-based mental health initiative carried on by the
Washington
Psychoanalytic Foundation, headed by Dr. William Granatir.
In 1989,
the initiative won a $150,000 grant to improve the
delivery of child
mental health services for the city.
Since 2001, the Family Mental Health Institute has focused
on four
areas to reduce the incidence of maternal depression and
mental
health disparities in women:
- Screening programs for early PPD
detection
- Professional Education and training
- Public education and awareness
- Peer support groups for women and
their families
In 2000 the Institute was awarded a
four
year Healthy Start grant to improve women's health using
routine
depression screening in a variety of clinical settings. As
part
of that effort, the first Women's Mental Health Coalition
was formed
which included organizations as diverse as the Maryland
Department
of Health, Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Health,
George Washington
University School of Public Health, and the National Naval
Medical
Center.
The Family Mental Health Institute (FMHI) has been a
leader in promoting
universal perinatal screening for post partum women.
It developed and sponsored the first Annual Postpartum Depression (PPD)
Screening Day at which over 30 health organizations including the
American Public Health Association.
FMHI has developed a presentation for professionals on the necessity to
do routine perinatal depression screening. It established the fact that
screening can take place in a variety of primary care settings;
hospitals, outpatient clinics, Healthy Start and Healthy Families
Initiatives, private medical offices and large organizations, such as
insurance companies, health care companies and the military. A PPD
survivor is always part of the presentation and her description of her
personal struggles has a huge impact on the professional audience. Every
time a presentation is made people approach the presenters with stories
of there own which occurred as long as 50 years ago. Many say it was
the most significant and traumatic event of their life.
FMHI, in conjunction with the National Naval Medical Center, has
developed a model protocol to screen perinatal women for depression. It
gives the specific steps for assuring that the patients are detected,
referred and treated promptly. This model was so effective that it has
been adopted as a standard of care throughout the United States Navy.
This protocol has also been adopted by The Bolling Air Force Base and
DeWitt Army Hospital following the FMHI presentations. It has played a
centeral role in the development of a community-based program on the
Eastern Shore of Maryland.
FMHI collaborated with The INOVA Health System, which is providing space
for PPD support groups and which are announced in their newsletter that
reaches 300,000 families in Northern Virginia quarterly.
Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner requested an information package on
postnatal health to go to all women in the state of Virginia post
delivery. FMHI contracted with the State Health Department to have an
adaptation of its PPD brochures included in package.
- 100,000 deliveries in Virginia per year
- 2 in 10 women likely to experience PPD
- 20,000 PPD cases in Virginia alone
FMHI collaborated with the Maryland Medical Society (Med-Chi) and the
Maryland Department of Health in developing an informational tool kit
for primary care practitioners. This was sent to all primary practices
in Maryland. The FMHI Brochure was included.
Cheryl Hall, Chair of our Board and a frequent speaker at presentations,
was invited to be part of an expert panel to make a presentation to
Safe Motherhood Coalition. Under the umbrella of the Center of Disease
Control which is planning a national campaign to deal with the problem
of Perinatal Psychiatric Disorders she was asked to speak as a consumer.
FMHI made an agreement with the Clinical Branch of the National
Institute of Mental Health Behavioral Endocrinology Branch to have
announcements of their studies on its websites and they, in turn, will
help us to ensure that the scientific basis of our materials are
verified and will help us develop a committee to develop training for
primary care practitioners.
The Institute has a first draft of a training manual for health care
professionals. There are also programs to train peer-support mothers,
para professionals to carry out these programs.
FMHI operated a telephone warmline. Calls from distressed women or their
families are answered by crisis workers who make sure there is not a
life-threatening emergency. If there is an emergency they are equipped
to handle them. Otherwise they offer the caller the chance to talk
directly with a mother who has survived PPD. Currently we have a
warmline at 1(877) PPD-HOPE which is answered by a trained person who
can direct the caller to further help.
We have two websites. One, PPD-HOPE.COM is specifically dedicated to
help affected mothers and their families. The other is, FMHI.org, which
provides information to both the public and professionals about
Perinatal Psychiatric Disorders (PPD).
FMHI has developed a searchable database of therapists in the region who
are willing to work with these women. We are planning to include it on
our website and to encourage the adoption of a similar one in other
regions.
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