PW01-162 - Destigmatizing Mental Ilness

Abstract

In view of the fact that the “Münchner Bündniss gegen Depression” started on Oct 12, 2009, with the aim of destigmatizing depression and informing the population at large about mental illness, I propose the following:

A session/workshop which I would lead with representatives (patients and relatives) of the Munich self-help- groups, a psychiatrist (Dr. Waldemar Greil), and a representative from the pharmaceutical industry.

Aim would be to find out how to best fulfill the mission of the “Münchner Bündniss” gegen Depression and how to ensure sustainability.

For your information I am including my resume. I am the President of the Werner Alfred Selo Foundation in Switzerland. The foundation gives grants for research proposals in the area of comorbidity of depression and migraines. I have served two terms on the Board of NARSAD (National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression. I have been a mental health advocate since I came out of a mental hospital in New York in 1980. My most recent activities were being the protagonist in the movie Bipolar by psychiatrist and filmmaker Dr.Ernst Juenger (www.bipolar.de/bipolar) and being a panel discussant at the World Health Summit in Berlin (Oct 15-18, 2009). I also participated in a round-table discussion organized by the Kanton of Zug on bipolar illness in Zug, Switzerland on November 8, 2009.