Health Programs

Rosalynn Carter's Advocacy in Mental Health

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has been a driving force in the field of mental health throughout her public service career. She was a member of the Governor's Commission to Improve Services to the Mentally and Emotionally Handicapped when her husband was governor of Georgia. As active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health during President Carter's administration, she helped bring about passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.

Today, she continues her leadership through The Carter Center in Atlanta. Founded by President and Mrs. Carter in 1982, the Center is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people at home and in the developing world through programs in health, democracy and development, and urban revitalization.

In 1985, she initiated the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, which brings together representatives of mental health organizations nationwide to focus and coordinate their efforts on key issues. Since then, annual symposia held at The Carter Center have investigated such topics as mental illness and the elderly, child and adolescent illness, family coping, financing mental health services and research, treating mental illness in the primary care setting, and stigma and mental illness. Responding to the need for local collaboration, she instituted in 1996 an annual Georgia Mental Health Forum for professionals and consumers statewide.

The Carter Center Mental Health Task Force, chaired by Mrs. Carter and comprised of individuals in a position to affect public policy, meets three times per year to identify policy initiatives and set the agenda for The Carter Center Mental Health Program and annual symposia. Program staff work year round to sustain the momentum of the symposia and to unify professionals in various mental health disciplines. With the inception of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism in 1996, Mrs. Carter launched one of the most successful national programs in combating the stigma associated with mental illnesses.

Mrs. Carter also chairs the International Committee of Women Leaders for Mental Health,  a global coalition of first ladies, royalty, and heads of state. Formed as a catalyst through which the expertise and influence of these prominent women could be channeled, the committee's goals are to raise awareness about mental health issues, to identify and prioritize related needs in individual countries, and to implement appropriate actions. Under Mrs. Carter's leadership, this prestigious group communicates periodically to continue its work to improve mental health worldwide.

Through the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University, established in her honor at her alma mater, Mrs. Carter addresses the concerns of those who take care of people suffering from mental illnesses and other chronic illnesses and long-term disabilities. Through research, education, and training, the RCI promotes the mental health and well-being of individuals, families, and professional caregivers; delineates effective caregiving practices; builds public awareness of caregiving needs; and advances public and social policies that enhance caring communities. Both professional and family caregivers benefit from RCI programs to improve coping skills and foster greater emotional and physical well-being. As a result of research conducted at the RCI, Mrs. Carter published in 1994, Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book for Caregivers co-authored with Susan Golant.

Following on the success of her caregiving book, Mrs. Carter teamed up again with Susan Golant to write Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers. Building on her 25 years' experience in the field, Mrs. Carter discusses the latest treatments and research generated from her symposia and in consultation with the major mental health organizations in the United States. She also addresses how best to help those with illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, manic depression, panic attacks, and obsessive-compulsive disorders by being an effective, compassionate caregiver and advocate. Helping Someone with Mental Illness was selected as the winner of the 1999 American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award in the service category.

Mrs. Carter has received many honors and awards for her support of mental health causes including the Volunteer of the Decade Award from the National Mental Health Association, the Dorothea Dix Award from the Mental Illness Foundation, the Nathan S. Kline Medal of Merit from the International Committee Against Mental Illness, the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine, the United States Surgeon General's Medallion, induction in the National Women's Hall of Fame, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. She is an Honorary Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.