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Move Research Forward:
“Mental Health Moonshot!“
We advocate for increased funding for research into the biological factors which are at the root of serious mental health disorders – in other words, biological brain disorders. This requires much more funding for genetic and epigenetic research. Only in discovering the causes may we be able to find the cures. We must come together as a united voice and demand to have the type of change that has occurred with cancer research in the War on Cancer, beginning over fifty years ago. We must have a war on mental health disease – in other words, a ‘Mental Health Moonshot!’
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K-12 Mental Health Education:
“Following Daniel’s Lead“
We understand that in order to make change, we must educate all, including the children, on all of the pieces of the mental health puzzle, as we know it. Currently, we are only teaching about the environmental & situational factors involved, leaving out crucial information on the biological factors involved in brain conditions. This knowledge is vital in reducing the stigma associated with these medical conditions. Our educational initiative is named after Mary’s son, Daniel Allen, who passed away while in graduate school studying to become a school psychologist. He was specializing in helping children struggling with emotional challenges and high school students having thoughts of suicide. Our world would be a far better place if we all followed Daniel’s lead. If you would like to hear more, email us on our ‘Contact Us’ page.
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Normalize Conversations:
“End Stigma“
In addition to research and education, it’s essential to normalize conversations surrounding mental health *brain* conditions. This will take time, as mental health conditions have been misunderstood for decades, and therefore, the target of much stigma. Normalizing conversations and speaking accurately about what these biological brain diseases actually are will go far in reducing stigma.
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Early Detection:
Start at the Beginning.
Many mental health issues are diagnosed during the early teenage years, so why not start at the very beginning? Evidence shows the critical need for prevention efforts to begin before mental health conditions progress to debilitating levels, in particular, to the point of a suicide attempt. Let’s encourage pediatricians to include a mental health questionnaire as part of a child’s yearly physical. Fortunately, some pediatric practices have begun including questionnaires for parents to fill out on the behaviors their young children exhibit. This is an important step. In addition, we need to include in this questionnaire a family mental health history. We need as many pieces of the mental health puzzle as possible, and it’s always best to start at the beginning.
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Collaborate as a Team:
We are Better Together.
We feel that in any organization it’s important to work together as a team. It’s also important to have diversity within the team and to collaborate with other organizations whose focus may be in different areas. In this way, we are able to see things from other points of view. In turn, we may provide important perspectives which we may not have had otherwise. “Cure Brain Disease” is comprised of a very diverse population of members. In addition, we collaborate with other nonprofit organizations as well as experts in different fields. We are always open to hearing new ideas and happy to have new members to join us. If you would like to join us, please fill out our contact form. We would love to talk to you about joining our team!