We are so excited that Mark Hyman Rapaort, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behaviroal Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine will be giving this year’s inaugural Dorothy C. Fuqua Lecture Series. Information can be found at: http://skylandtrail.org/dorothy-c-fuqua-lecture-series.
I had a chance to ask Dr. Rapaport some questions about his new role at Emory and what changes he sees on the horizon for mental health treatment. That discussion is below. We hope to see you on October 26th for the lecture!
Sincerely,
Ray Kotwicki, MD, MPH
Vice President of Professional Services/Medical Director
Ray: What attracted you to come to Atlanta to lead Emory’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences? What do you envision as a “Transformed” mental health community in Atlanta and the Southeast?
Dr. Rapaport: “I was struck by the excellence of science at Emory, not just in the Department of Psychiatry but throughout the entire University. It is a first rate science institution.
“Emory has a sense of values: there are values on people being collaborative, rigorous, and on having integrity and honesty-I was impressed. People are nice, genuinely warm and friendly and willing to work together.
“I think there is tremendous opportunity in Atlanta to grow collaboratively with the community. This is a place that can be truly remarkable for the treatment of people with brain diseases.”
Ray: Given that many people who could benefit from mental health services do not access them due to stigma, what strategies might decrease that barrier and encourage people to seek treatment when needed?
Dr. Rapaport: “If we’re talking about what our patients need, there are a variety of things that are apparent. Services need to be located where the people are, so that they’re not traveling long distances and that there aren’t barriers due to financial concerns, the weather or transportation issues.
“There does need to be a breaking down of the idea that diseases of the brain are somehow different than the rest of the body—they are as real and as deadly as heart disease or cancer and they need to be legitimized by everyone in our community. They also need to be understood as a physical illness with tremendous costs associated with them in terms of human suffering, suffering of family members and friends, and the dollar amount tied to them.
“Two things we can do are to put treatment facilities where the patients are and break down the stigma by having people understand that these are legitimate diseases—not personality failings or individual weakness.”
Ray: You have trained and led large organizations in California. What differences do you see between the mental health system on the West Coast and that we have in Georgia?
Dr.Rapaport: “One of the things that is remarkable in Georgia is the availability and willingness of the leaders to meet with the people. There are also seems to be a desire right now for consumer advocates in the state level to really want to partner with academic institutions to create a viable system that will take care of people with severe mental illness.”
Ray: Skyland Trail and Emory have had a close and symbiotic relationship in our 22-year history. In what ways do you think Skyland Trail is integral to the mental health community and how might Emory and Skyland Trail further develop our relationship in years ahead?
Dr.Rapaport: “I respect what Skyland Trail has done. It has, I think, provided outstanding care to the local community and has done so in a way that’s ethical and innovative and I’m looking forward to creating further bridges between Emory and Skyland Trail. I think that working together we can truly make tremendous improvements for everyone in Atlanta.
“We have the opportunity to create, through mutual respect, innovative models of care and training that will truly benefit patients in Georgia. I also think that there’s an opportunity to link up research strengths of Emory with the clinical strength of Skyland Trail in ways where they sum is greater than the parts. I’m excited by the opportunity to work collaboratively on research projects, projects of interest to larger Atlanta community and, by working together, we can make a difference throughout the state.
Ray: We’ve learned about recent bullying-related suicides, morbidity resulting from losses in the economy, and exploding misuses of substances through the media. What do see to be the largest mental health challenges the public face today?
Dr. Rapaport: “I think really the largest mental health challenge we face today is having all of our various constituents—those who make policy or reimburse policy, those who create and form policy, as well as the constituents who are our patients—appreciate the importance and the consequences of diseases of the brain. The mind and the body are connected by the neck and if one has depression, one is more likely to develop cardiac disease. If one has chronic stress, they are more likely to have chronic markers of immune activation and inflammation.”
“Brain diseases are a serious illness deserve the same type of funding and attention as cancer or heart disease or diabetes. We need to get out the word. I think that is the greatest challenge we face.”
