The Office of Behavioral Health - The goal of this Office is to reduce and ultimately eliminate disparities in behavioral health, including mental health, substance abuse and developmental disabilities.

Strategies - We achieve our goal through the following strategies:
    
     · Training and Development of existing and emerging leaders.
    
     · Community Empowerment, Support and Leadership.
    
     · Providing leadership to inform meaningful and effective policy and 
       practice in Behavioral Health.

Accomplishments - The following activities are some of our accomplishments:
    
     · The Post-Doctoral Policy Leadership Fellowship program on Mental
       Health: Integrating Mental Health into Primary Care to reduce and
       ultimately eliminate disparities in mental health, 2009.
    
     · The Lancet Global Mental Health Series Americas' Launch, Pan
       American Health Organization (PAHO) Headquarters, Washington,
       D.C., May 7, 2008.
    
     · Toward A Healthy Future: A Public Health Paradigm for Physical and 
       Mental Health, Chicago, IL, April 16, 2007.
    
     · The 2007 Santa Fe Summit, Mind and Body Reunited: Perspectives on
       Integrating Behavioral and Physical Healthcare, American College of
       Mental Health Administration, Santa Fe, NM, March 15, 2007.
    
     · Co-sponsored The J.B. Fuqua Mental Health Forums addressing:
         
          o  The Mental Health Impact of Disasters, Natural and Man-Made, 
            Atlanta, GA, May 8, 2007. 
          
          o  Violence Prevention Conference, Atlanta, GA September 2006. 
          
          o  Mental Health and the Black Family, June 5, 2006. 
          
          o  Children and Teens with Mental Illness: Mending a Broken
             System, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA., February 28,
             2006. 
          
          o  Mental Health and the Prison System, Morehouse School of
             Medicine, Atlanta, GA, January 24, 2006.
    
     · Symposium on Health Disparities in Male Depression, sponsored by 
       Community Voices. Washington, D.C., November 6, 2007.

Upcoming Projects - We will be implementing three initiatives in 2010:
    
     I. Mental Health Community Forum in Atlanta, Spring, 2010.
    
     II. Summer Fellowship program on Reduction of Disparities in mental
           health through the use of social media and technology to reduce
           stigma associated with mental illness and promote mental 
           health.  This program will be administered through Morehouse
           School of Medicine - Masters in Public Health Summer Fellowship
           Program.
    
     III. Promoting early childhood mental health and wellness through
            brain development and parental bonding as protective factors
            for promoting resiliency. 

For further information about the Office of Behavioral Health, please contact:
Martha N. Okafor, PhD
Director, Office of Behavioral Health
The Satcher Health Leadership Institute Morehouse School of Medicine
720 Westview Drive, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30310
Tel: 404-752-5293
FAX: 404-752-1040
Email: mokafor@msm.edu