Date: Thursday, February 8, 1996

Contacts:
Rhea Farberman, 202/336-5709
Public Communications, APA,

Cindy Yeast or Jan Peterson, 202/336-5898
Practice Directorate, APA,

Linda Mura, 312/856-8882
Porter/Novelli,

New Study: Most Americans in the Dark About Getting Help to Cope With Life Stresses

Survey finds 68 percent say lack of knowledge barrier to getting help.

New York -- While Americans value psychological health and think people should seek help for emotional problems, half wish they knew more about when to seek professional help for emotional problems and more than two-thirds don't know how to find help for these problems, according to a survey released today by the American Psychological Association (APA).

'Our study found a huge information gap,' said Dorothy Cantor, Psy.D., president-elect of APA.' Eighty-four percent of American adults say psychological health plays an important role in their overall health and 69 percent say that people should get help for emotional problems, but our survey found that they often don't know when or where to get help.

According to the APA survey, 47 percent of Americans feel they don't know enough about when it is appropriate to see a mental health professional and 68 percent don't know how they should go about seeking help if they think they need it. 'At a time when Americans are dealing with increasingly stressful lives -- job insecurity, family problems and stress-related illnesses -- we are very concerned that so few Americans have the information they need,' said Dr. Cantor.

In response to this situation, APA announced that it is launching a national public education campaign to help Americans identify when they might benefit from seeking help for problems, such as a stressful job, a chronic illness, a family member facing cancer, helping a child with behavior or learning problems, or trying to make a marriage work. The campaign will provide information about how Americans can go about finding an appropriate person to help them learn to deal with their stress, problems and feelings.

'The goal of APA's public education campaign is to help consumers gain a greater awareness and understanding of the benefits of seeking help for the stress that is, unfortunately, more and more a part of people's daily lives,' said Dr. Cantor. ' This will particularly focus on people who might need help dealing with 'real life' feelings and problems that seem beyond their control. These stresses of daily living can at times be significantly debilitating.'

According to Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., executive director for professional practice, APA, this unprecedented effort comes at a particularly critical time. 'Our survey found that nearly nine out of ten Americans understand that psychological health plays an important role in maintaining good physical health. And the majority, 70 percent, say access to mental health care and having insurance coverage for that care are very important,' said Dr.Newman. 'But only 35 percent feel that people in the U.S. have adequate access to that care.'

'The American Psychological Association is dedicated to helping ensure access for those who need it,' said Dr. Newman, 'and one way to enhance access is making sure people have information about when and how to get the help they need.'

APA's comprehensive public education campaign will reach consumers via print, radio and TV advertisements, media coverage and the Internet.

APA's new Help Center on the World Wide Web can be found at http://helping.apa.org. By accessing this new site consumers can learn more about dealing with everyday stressful situations, be linked to other mental health related sites, and obtain news and information about psychological health services.

APA is also providing a new information brochure which addresses some frequently asked questions, including when to seek help; who can provide help; how therapy works; how to evaluate therapy; how many sessions are needed; how to evaluate access and coverage for mental health services. The brochure is available free of charge by calling APA at 1-800-964-2000 or via the Internet site.

Throughout the nation, state and provincial psychological associations, along with individual psychologists, will help to bring the campaign to their states and local communities through myriad efforts including: conducting community outreach presentations and seminars on a variety of subjects; disseminating informational materials; and placing local advertisements. A number of associations will also provide local referral services, which can be accessed through the campaign's 800 number.

The survey, conducted by Millward Brown, Inc., an independent research company specializing in attitude and behavior tracking studies, consisted of interviews among a random sampling of 1,000 American men and women aged 21-65 who are primary health care decision-makers for their households. Interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted approximately 20 minutes. Results for the total sample have an error range of +/- three percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. Through its divisions in 49 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 57 state and Canadian provincial association, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.