Two psychiatrists—Kenneth P. Rosenberg, M.D., and Joseph Deltito, M.D.—are among those being honored by Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn., for making positive contributions to the media about mental health.

The first annual Silver Hill Hospital Media Awards will be presented in a ceremony this month at the Harvard Club in New York City. In addition to Rosenberg and Deltito, other honorees of interest to APA members are Lewis Burke Frumkes, Ph.D., and Pola Rosen, Ed.D.

Silver Hill Hospital is a not-for-profit psychiatric hospital founded in 1931. Medical Director and CEO Richard Francis, M.D., who is an addiction treatment specialist, noted that there are many inaccuracies in the way that mental illness and its treatments are portrayed in the media.

"These awards were developed to honor those who accurately portray psychiatric illnesses and treatment, so that patients and families can better recognize problems and get the help that they need."

Francis, in fact, can point to a couple of incidents where Silver Hill Hospital itself was portrayed in an unflattering way. "Whispers in the Dark" is an old Red Skelton movie in which the medical director of Silver Hill Hospital is a murderer who steals patients’ money. There is also a more recent film called "The Ice Storm," starring Kevin Klein and Joan Allen, where Silver Hill is cast in a forbidding light.

Though they work in different formats, the Silver Hill Hospital media awardees have one thing in common—they are dedicated to educating the public about mental illness and do so in a truthful and informed manner, said Francis.

• Kenneth Rosenberg, M.D., is a psychiatrist specializing in addiction psychiatry as well as a talented filmmaker who has produced a number of award-winning documentaries about people living with mental illness. Silver Hill Hospital is recognizing Rosenberg for three of his films, "Back from Madness," which follows psychiatric patients from the time they enter the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital; "Why Am I Gay?," a film about people coming to terms with their sexual orientation; and his latest documentary, "Drinking Apart: Families Under the Influence," which concerns three families who struggle to cope with serious addictions.

• Joseph Deltito, M.D., is the host of a nationally syndicated radio program called "Psychiatry Rounds with Joseph Deltito, M.D." The program, devoted to topics in psychiatry, neurology, and public health, airs on the Talk America Radio Network. He is the author of more than 80 articles on the recognition and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. For 12 years, Deltito was the director of the anxiety and depression program at Cornell University.

Deltito’s radio show, which is syndicated in 45 cities around the country, features straightforward discussions about psychiatric illnesses. On a typical show, Deltito interviews an expert in psychiatry and then opens up the phone lines for questions and discussion.

"Most of the people who call in are relatives of people with chronic and severe psychiatric illnesses," Deltito told Psychiatric News. "But we also get patients and professionals who call."

Deltito believes his show emphasizes a certain type of advocacy. "We advocate for people to get modern care, and we try to debunk the less-than-scientific care," he emphasized, commenting on the many "medical" radio shows on the airwaves that focus on alternative or holistic medicine. Said Deltito, "We have a definite nonalternative medicine bent."

• In 1995 Pola Rosen, Ed.D., founded Education Update, a newspaper that reaches more than 200,000 readers throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In addition to disseminating information about educational programs, Education Update provides a link between education and psychiatry, according to Francis, and contains information about various mental illnesses such as ADHD, eating disorders, and substance abuse, to name a few, which are featured in the "Medicine and Health" section of the paper. Some of the contributors to the newspaper have included New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, in addition to superintendents, principals, student journalists in elementary school, and Nobel laureates, who all share their perspectives on education.

• Lewis Burke Frumkes, Ph.D., is the host of the "Lewis Frumkes Show," which airs on radio station WPAT in New York City. The show also reaches areas in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Long Island. On his show, Frumkes interviews famed writers and scientists. "If you want to know why Tom Wolfe wears ice-cream-colored suits," said Frumkes, "you will tune into my show."

Frunkes has interviewed people important to the field of mental health, such as famed neurologist Oliver Sacks, M.D., and Leo Stone, M.D., a leading psychoanalytic theorist. Frumkes has also published several books, among them, How to Raise Your IQ by Eating Gifted Children, Name Crazy, and The MENSA Think Smart Book. Most of his books will be republished this fall.