~World Mental Health Day Report 1999~
New Levi Strauss Video on Depression
That evening, the premiere of a new documentary video produced by Levi Strauss & Co., Understanding Depression: A Global Health Concern, was held at a theatre in the HealthExpo pavilion. It was produced by Levi Strauss and created by film-maker Michael Danty to provide information for company managers and employees around the world. The documentary was prepared with the assistance of a group of experts including Arthur Kleinman, M.D., and Richard Frank, Ph.D., of Harvard University Medical School and Ricardo Munoz, Ph.D., from the University of California, San Francisco. Former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter appeared in the film, discussing the importance of mental health education.
WFMH, in collaboration with Levi Strauss, has been given the right to arrange for wider global distribution of the documentary to corporations, organizations and interested members of the public.
The video screening was followed by a panel of speakers including Beverly Long, WFMH Past President; Elliott Naishtat, Texas State Representative-(D) Austin; and Jan Bein, Regional Employee Assistance Program Manager for Levi Strauss & Co. A leading medical expert on depression, Prof. A. John Rush of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, gave a presentation. Author Meri Danquah, who was featured in the video, spoke about her experience of mental illness.
The co-sponsors of World Mental Health Day 1999 at HealthExpo included the National Mental Health Association; the Mental Health Association in Texas; the Mental Health Association of Greater Dallas; the Texas Mental Health Consumers; the American Diabetes Association; and HealthExpo. Generous support was provided by Pfizer, Inc.; Eli Lilly & Company; The Center for Mental Health Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; HealthExpo; and Cynthia Ekberg Tsai, Chairman and CEO, HealthQuest I. Supplementary funding was provided by the Texas Mental Health Consumers, Magellan Behavioral Health and Robert Mondavi.
Nancy Wallace
Project Coordinator