As you may know, May is National Mental Health Month which provides an outstanding opportunity for the implementation of public education campaign efforts in your state or community.

The following items may assist you in planning your activities:

• Ideas for education and outreach activities.
• Suggestions for tie-ins with national observances.
• A sample press release to send to local newspapers and organization newsletters.
• A Public Service Announcement (PSA) for your local radio stations.
• A sample proclamation that you can use when contacting public officials to discuss their interest in declaring May as 'Psychological Health Awareness Month.'

• Send Out News Releases - Send a copy of the attached press release 'Coping in the 90s' to a local newspaper or community group newsletter for publication. You may also want to include copies of the enclosed fact sheets as background material, as well as a list of psychologists in your area who are willing to serve as spokespersons for related stories highlighting National Mental Health Month.
• Call on Community Partners - Consider tapping into the following organizations:
• Borders Books - When planning for your association's National Anxiety Screening Day, think about hosting it at Borders bookstore. As you may recall, APA established a relationship at the national level last year with the popular bookstore chain to encourage state, regional and local associations to provide free screenings at stores in their area.
• American Cancer Society (ACS) - Find your local contact from the previously disseminated list of regional ACS directors and discuss ways for your association to collaborate on outreach activities, such as health fairs or workshops.
• American Heart Association (AHA) - A list of American Heart Association (AHA) communications directors from each chapter across the country is enclosed to facilitate your efforts regarding potential collaborations.
• Contact Local Radio Stations - Call your local radio stations to determine if they are willing to run Public Service Announcements (PSAs) during National Mental Health Month. Send a copy of the attached PSA script about family relations and ask them to read it on-air throughout the month. Be sure to include contact information so the station can call you with any questions. Also, radio talk show hosts like to have professionals talk about current issues on their programs. Consider sending a letter and fact sheets to a talk show host in your area offering an interview on topics related to psychological health.
• Connect with Your Local Library - Let your local library know that May is National Mental Health Month. Offer to provide APA's public education campaign brochures and fact sheets for use in displays throughout the month. Talk with your reference librarian about creating a special display, using a campaign poster and featuring books you can recommend related to mental health and the mind/body connection. The library may also agree to host or sponsor educational lectures by your association's members.
• Tie-In to Your Local Church or Synagogue - Reach out to your community by encouraging local clergy to discuss the importance of good psychological health with their congregations. Offer campaign brochures and the enclosed fact sheets for distribution during services or other meetings. Inquire about using the community hall to conduct free depression, anxiety or eating disorder screenings.
• Issue a Proclamation - Issuing a proclamation to increase awareness of psychological health issues provides an opportunity to garner support from public officials and generate media attention. Customize a version from the enclosed sample and ask a public official in your state or community to support it. To get started, call your Governor's office, or a local elected official's office, to discuss their interest in declaring May as 'Psychological Health Awareness Month.' Be prepared to discuss the importance of good psychological health to overall well-being - both at the individual and community level.

You may want to consider implementing local activities that tie-in to the following national observances. Remember to use the enclosed fact sheets and the campaign brochure as handouts to enhance your outreach efforts.

• National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day (May 6) -- National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day is designed to educate consumers about anxiety disorders, and to help people find appropriate treatment. Tie-in to this event and promote an 'Anxiety Awareness Day' in your community. Find out if local hospitals, bookstores or YMCA's in your community will provide a venue for psychologists to disseminate information. Or, if you are interested in tying-in to the national event, call Freedom from Fear at 718-351-1717.
• National Suicide Awareness Week (May 4 - 10) -- Send a letter to the editor of a local newspaper addressing the increasing prevalence of depression and suicide in today's society. Extend your community outreach by collaborating with your local high school, college, unemployment office, youth center, senior center and suicide prevention hotline to combine resources and provide help for people in high-risk situations.
• National Employee Health and Fitness Day (May 20) -- Identify an organization in your community that is leading the effort to educate employees on the benefits of good health and fitness and join their efforts. Provide information packets -- or better yet, set up a booth, hand out campaign brochures and other information and utilize the campaign ads as posters.
• Older Americans Month -- The Department of Health and Human Services has designated May as Older Americans Month. The 1998 theme is 'Living Longer, Growing Stronger in America,' developed as a salutation to the growing numbers of older Americans who are living longer and becoming or staying healthy and strong, mentally as well as physically. Contact nursing homes and community support networks in your area and offer to distribute fact sheets on depression, loneliness and other topics important to seniors and their caregivers.

Contact: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Coping in the 90s: May Marks National Mental Health Month

CITY, STATE (May 1, 1998) -- In the workplace and at home, stress and other difficult situations are at an all-time high for many Americans. Comments such as 'I'm stressed out,' 'She's taking a 'mental health' day,' and 'He's really burned out' are taking on new meaning. These phrases tend to be used lightly, but behind the words there can be some very telling information about the state of our psychological health.

Challenges facing families today are more complex. Along with work pressures, single parents and couples balancing dual careers are being forced to deal with the stress of raising young children and perhaps caring for aging parents at the same time.

'Chronic work stress, depression and dealing with difficult family issues can become very serious matters if people hit a point where coping is out of their reach,' Dr. Xxxxxxxx said. 'Early intervention can head-off serious consequences.'

While 69 percent of people surveyed by the American Psychological Association(APA) agreed that people should get help for problems they can't seem to resolve on their own, 3 out of 4 surveyed said they don't know how to go about finding the right help.

'Sometimes it helps just to talk to someone like a friend or relative. But in many situations, you need professional help to work through issues that run deeper,' Dr. Xxxxxxx said. 'Psychologists are more than sympathetic listeners. They are able to help you find ways to cope and work through your problems.'

Around the country this month, psychologists are sponsoring activities to increase public awareness about work stress, anxiety and depression as part of National Mental Health Month. Many mental health providers are also taking part in National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day on May 6 by sponsoring free anxiety disorders screenings.

To help close the information gap, The Xxxxxx Psychological Association is sponsoring Xxxxxxx. (Include information about your event.) Free brochures which help consumers recognize when to seek professional help and find a psychologist that's right for them are also available by calling 1-800-964-2000.

The 90s are challenging times -- balancing work and home, raising kids, caring for aging parents.

Sometimes it feels like too much...and you need to talk to someone who can help.

Qualified mental health professionals can help families find ways to cope.

For more information, call 1-800-964-2000 to receive a free brochure from the American Psychological Association. That's 1-800-964-2000.

WHEREAS, the [insert name of state] Psychological Association has represented organized professionals in the psychology field in [insert name of state] from [insert year] to 1998, growing from a small founding group to a membership of over [insert number]; and

WHEREAS, the [insert name of state] Psychological Association has been continually affiliated with the American Psychological Association; and

WHEREAS, the [insert name of state] Psychological Association has encouraged the advancement of psychology as a science, a profession and as a means of promoting the mental health of our citizens and society; and

WHEREAS, the [insert name of state] Psychological Association has designated May as Psychological Health Awareness Month and is committed to a statewide education campaign to:

1.Increase public knowledge of psychological health and the value of psychological services as they relate to job stress, family relations, and the mind/body connection;

2.Increase public knowledge of when psychological services might be utilized; and

3.Increase public knowledge of how to gain access to appropriate psychological services, such as utilization of insurance benefits, utilization of prevention programs, access to agencies providing services in specialty areas.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, [insert name], Governor of the State of [insert name of state], do hereby proclaim May as Psychological Health Awareness Month in [insert name of state].

*Text from the State of New Jersey Proclamation