APA, Huntsman Mental Health Institute Partner in ‘Grand Challenge’ to End Stigma

APA is partnering with the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) at the University of Utah in an ambitious “Grand Challenge” to eliminate stigma around mental health and substance use disorder.

“We grew up in a home where my father talked to us often about the obligation we have to get involved and to make a difference and to contribute to our communities,” said David Huntsman, president and CEO of the Huntsman Foundation. He introduced the campaign during a plenary session on Tuesday at APA’s Annual Meeting. “Before he passed away, he challenged us to ‘find our generational health challenge.’ In a big diverse family, we don’t agree on a lot, but we quickly agreed that mental health was something that was affecting all of us—it was a challenge that we were seeing in all of our families.”

The campaign aims to replicate the success of other public awareness campaigns, such as those to end smoking and make seatbelts mandatory in cars. The first meeting of the national collaborative was held in mid-April. In October, a “Design Summit” will be held at Snowbird Resort in Utah, where over 100 organizations committed to eliminating the stigma of mental and substance use disorders will meet to build a national network.

Key elements of the Grand Challenge include development of a committed coalition of national leaders; metrics and research to determine outcomes and success; and a focus on equity, public communications, and policy change and advocacy.

Huntsman’s sister, Christena Huntsman, executive vice president of HMHI, said, “Mental illness affects every single one of us. It’s in every single home, and it’s becoming more and more recognized as something that we have to bring out of the shadows. We want to shine a light on the work that so many of you have spent your life doing and to say, ‘mental illness is common, but it is treatable.’”

APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., who moderated the discussion, said it was time to “normalize mental illness and substance use disorders.” During the session, Monica Taylor-Desir, M.D., M.P.H., a member of the APA Foundation Board of Directors, discussed the Foundation’s parallel public campaign, Mental Health Works, which was unveiled at the Annual Meeting on Tuesday.

Also speaking at the session was Mark Rapaport, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Utah. He said a key partner in the campaign is the Ad Council, and he showed a sample of television advertisements aimed at youth, women, and people of color. When asked by Levin to describe what “success” in the campaign would look like, he said, “Real parity in terms of research dollars for mental illness and substance use disorders” and respect. Addressing psychiatrists in the room, he asked, “How many times has someone said, ‘I thought you were a real doctor’?”

Are things changing? Christena Huntsman said “success” would mean people do not have to hide the fact that they have a mental illness or substance use disorder. “In our family we lost our sister 13 years ago to an overdose. It didn’t happen overnight—it started with an eating disorder when she was younger. You didn’t share that your sister had entered rehabilitation for substance use. If she had died from cancer, would her death and the fallout look different? We need a society that feels comfortable and confident talking about mental health.”

Other organizations that have signed on to be part of the leadership team and working groups implementing the Grand Challenge include the American Psychological Association, National Association of Social Workers, Society for Human Resource Management, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Rural Behavioral Health Institute, The Carter Center, the Jed Foundation, Human Rights Coalition, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Mental Health Coalition. ■