The Friends of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) hosted a virtual Congressional briefing, “The Real-World Impact of NIMH Research,” in conjunction with the Congressional Mental Health Caucus and the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus (CNC). CNC co-chairs Rep. Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) provided recorded opening remarks. FABBS is a founding co-chair of the Friends of NIMH.
NIMH Director, Joshua A. Gordon, MD, PhD, provided an introduction of the institute and an overview of mental illness and the impacts of NIMH Investments in the two programs featured in the briefing: Rapidly-Acting Treatments for Treatment-Resistant Depression (RAPID) and Advanced Laboratories for Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults with Mental Illness (ALACRITY).
- Eden M. Shaveet, MS, CPS, Bridge to PhD Scholar, Columbia University, shared her perspective as an individual with lived experience with direct involvement in NIMH-funded projects. Shaveet also explained her engagement with the research process and the value of consumer involvement in NIMH-funded work.
- Rebecca B. Price, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Psychology
University of Pittsburgh, explained her motivation for research. Since treatments take too long and the demand far outweighs the supply, Dr. Price set out to find rapid and efficient interventions with enduring effects that are not resource-intensive. - David C. Mohr, PhD, Director, Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies, Northwestern University, opened with several measures of the enormity of the mental health crisis and the concerning shortages in mental health care providers. Dr. Mohr’s work explores the effectiveness of digital mental health and how to combine this with practitioners to maximize value while reducing cost and demand on workforce.