--Partnership will Provide Consumers with the Tools Needed to Regain a New Sense of Hope via Co-Produced One-Hour Documentary and Co-Branded Information Kits—

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 17, 2002

CONTACT:
Monica Moore 301-771-3781
Luana Bossolo (202) 336-5899

Bethesda, MD -- The Discovery Health Channel and the American Psychological Association (APA) today announced the launch of a campaign to help Americans work through personal tragedies by learning strategies for resilience.

The partnership was forged in the wake of the September 11th tragedy and supports a national, multi-media campaign designed to give Americans a fresh sense of hope and the means to build something new by understanding the role of resilience in their lives. Part of this effort includes the co-production of a documentary featuring personal, first-hand accounts from people who lived through life-altering losses and how they built resilience as a result when AFTERMATH: THE ROAD TO RESILIENCE, premieres on Discovery Health Channel on August 29 from 9-10PM (ET/PT) and airs again on the first anniversary of September 11th at 8:00 PM (ET/PT).

“The Discovery Health Channel is proud to join the American Psychological Association to generate awareness about personal resilience and help create a program to provide our viewers with the tools to help them move forward,” said Bob Reid, senior vice president and general manager, the Discovery Health Channel. “These tools should help people who are struggling with losses and working with adversity to take the necessary, proactive steps to move into a new chapter in their lives.”

Intimate storytelling, put in context by expert psychologists, will give viewers unique perspectives on building resilience that will carry them well past the events of September 11th and perhaps through the rest of their lives.

In contrast to the many programs untangling and reliving the events of that tragic day, the documentary, AFTERMATH: THE ROAD TO RESILIENCE, will provide a window to the recovery, healing and new directions an individual’s life can undertake when confronted with adversity. Viewers will see through these real-life accounts that they can learn and acquire resilience and that it is a personal journey with no single path or prescribed time line.

"More than before September 11th, people seem open to reexamining their lives and finding new ways to cope," said Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., APA's executive director for professional practice. "Resilience as a way of coping with adversity, challenges, and even chronic stress, is something which can be learned. This campaign by APA and Discovery Health Channel will present a variety of strategies individuals can use to develop and enhance their resilience."

By tuning into the Discovery Health Channel and reading the co-produced materials, consumers will learn how they can begin their own journey of healing, demonstrating to themselves, friends and family that they have the ability to work through the hardship that defines so many of our lives. The documentary will serve as a cornerstone of the project. Other key components of the campaign are a brochure and grassroots outreach by psychologists, who will lead discussion forums throughout the nation about the road to resilience. In-depth content on discoveryhealth.com and APA’s consumer web site helping.apa.org will complement the television programming.

AFTERMATH: THE ROAD TO RESILIENCE is produced for the Discovery Health Channel by JWM Productions. Claire Vande Polder is Executive Producer for Discovery Health Channel. Bob Reid is the executive in charge of production.

The American Psychological Association (APA), located in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world’s largest association of psychologists. APA’s membership includes more than 155,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its 53 divisions and its affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science and profession, and as a means of promoting health and human welfare.

Discovery Health Channel takes you inside the world of health, medicine and wellness through medical breakthroughs, inspiring real life stories of individual and medical triumphs and events brought to life in a unique and captivating style. From the people who bring you the Discovery Channel, the most trusted brand on television, Discovery Health Channel and Discoveryhealth.com are part of a multi-media business designed to help consumers lead healthier, more vigorous lives. Together, they reveal the remarkable science behind everyday human experiences, allowing viewers to walk away with a stronger knowledge and a deeper understanding of the ever-changing health and medical environment.