Katie Duffin, A Los Angeles native, counsels parents of California’s Welfare-to-Work program. “The parents I work with are generally open-minded and supportive,” Katie says.  “They want to do right by their kids but they don’t always know how.

Susan Huntley is a mediator who has suffered with depression. Read about how she is working on behalf of students in need of mental health services.

Teens who are dealing with depression are often reluctant to seek help.  Our upcoming May 29th Teen Depression Webinar will teach parents, school staff, youth workers, and other adults how to spot teen depression and help young people who may be resistant.  The webinar is free and also covers other topics such as signs of self injury and treatment options.

Nine Malden High School students involved in the “Capturing Community Wellness through Photovoice” photography exhibit are set to receive the 2013 Distinguished Service in Mental Health Advocacy award presented by Families for Depression Awareness. The award is being presented at our Strides Against Stigma event on April 27^th at Boston University’s Nickerson Field.

As we approach the final days leading up to our Strides Against Stigma event, we want to highlight one of the registered teams that is leading the pack in fundraising.  Team St. Paul's, led by last year's top Strides Against Stigma fundraiser Dan Fields, has pulled ahead with their combination of personal appeals to friends and family and public events.

Rarely a week passes that we don’t hear about the consequences of stigmatizing depressive disorders.  We at FFDA are committed to bringing you stories of people standing against stigma. The recent attention paid to the film “Silver Linings Playbook” has proved to be a catalyst for further discussion about stigma.

Dan Pellegrini, a Families for Depression Awareness volunteer and suicide prevention activist, devotes much of his time telling others about his experience with depression.  He is particularly interested in getting his message of wellness to men.  Dan attended our 2012 Strides Against Stigma event and, in the following interview, explains why he thinks other men should register for our April 27, 2013 event.

The American Psychological Association's Stress in America™ survey released this month indicated that stress levels in the American adult population continue to creep upward and two-thirds of people say they are not doing a good job of managing their stress. As we discuss in our Coping with Stress and Depression webinar, unmanaged stress can lead to anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, the majority of people surveyed (53 percent) report that they are getting little or no stress management support from their health care providers.

There has been much to-do about the newest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), the book used by the majority of clinicians to recognize and diagnose mental disorders. The latest edition will be published in May. The proposed changes have stirred up quite a bit of controversy. One of the many revisions found in the DSM-5 is the change to the diagnostic criteria for major depression.

With news of another shooting in Texas, there will be continued debate on gun control. We want to make sure that you are aware that President Obama's "Now is the Time" Plan (released last week) covers more than gun control. The Plan includes substantial recommendations to improve mental health services that will help all of us.