ÿþMental Health Section Newsletter Society for the Study of Social Problems, August 2010 Teresa L. Scheid, Section President 2010 Mental Health Section Awardees James R. Greenley Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Sociology of Mental Health Virginia Aldige Hiday, Ph.D. Dr. Hiday is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University. She received her doctorate in Sociology from the University of North Carolina. Dr. Hiday has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Society for the Study of Social Problems and a tireless advocate for the mental health section. She has mentored numerous young scholars who have gone on to become dedicated SSSP members themselves. Dr Hiday has a distinguished research record, and her work has made significant contributions to not only the Sociology of Mental Health, but Law and Criminal Justice. She was one of the original scholars to study the expansion of civil rights to persons with mental illnesses, and she has extended this line of research to include coercion, outpatient commitment, violence and victimization and most recently, mental health courts. She is considered a leading scholar not only in Sociology, but Law and Psychiatry. Her work is truly cross-disciplinary, and it has made critical contributions to our understanding of social justice issues. Best Student Paper Award Alexis A. Merdjanoff, Rutgers University  There s No Place Like Home: Examining the Emotional Consequences of Hurricane Katrina on the Displaced Residents of New Orleans Alexis advisor (Lee Clarke) found this paper  great and identifies  important and interesting problems& about the meaning of  home as Revealed by Katrina. I also found the paper to be emblematic of the kind of research associated with the SSSP, cutting edge, creative, and tied to contemporary social problems and issues. SSSP Mental Health Section Activities Section Business Meeting, Friday, August 13 at 12:30-2:10. Please try to attend, the SSSP has changed some rules governing sections and how much money we can get. Right now we get $ 700.00, in order to continue this we must maintain a membership of at least 150, we must hold a business meeting, and we must fill at least two sessions. We have had and continue to have over 150 members. This year we had listed four sessions but only got enough papers to fill 2 sessions (both of which are great, but there is obvious concern). We are allotted 3 session (and can add on joint sessions with other sections). We will discuss next years call for papers and the business meeting and I need your ideas and input! Thematic Session (41) Friday, 4:30 to 6:10. Mental Health Policy, Law and Stigma. Discussant: William Gronfein. Papers: Bruce Arrigo,  Social Justice and Mental Health: Reflections on Law and Stigma. Michele Easter,  Can t Help It: Perceived Implications of Genetic Explanations for Eating Disorders. Mary Gallagher, David Skubby, and Natalie Bonfine,  Recognition and Understandign of Goals and Roles: The Key Internal Features of Mental Health Court Teams. Virginia Aldige Hiday and Bradley Ray,  Procedural Justice and Coercion in Mental Health Courts: Defendant Perspectrives. Regular Session (54): Community Context and Mental Health, Saturday, August 14, 12:30 to 2:10. Discussant: R. Tyson Smith Papers: Patricia Meyer, Anna Maria Santiago, A.Antionio Gonzales-Prendes.  Assessing the Influence of Family, Community and School-Based Factors on Adolescent Suicidal Behaviors. Kristin Turney, Rebecca Kissane, and Kathryn Edin.  Adult Mental Health After Moving to Opportunity William D.Cabin.  Does Neighborhood Matter in Elderly Depression? Building a Predictive Model from the Health Indicators Project. Courtney A. Cuthbertson.  Globalizing Mental Illness: Experiencing Depression and Self in Chile. Co-Sponsored Sessions: 43. Health, Mental Health and Crime. Organized and Presided by Mark Peyrot. Saturday 8-9:40. 96. Texts, Mental Health Disability, and the Social Organization of Inequality. Organized and Presided by Janet R. Rankin. Sunday, 10:30 to 12:10 Mental Health Reception: Friday, August 13: 6:30 to 7:30 Fandangles Bar& . There will be some munchies, and you can get a drink at the bar until our $ 400.00 runs out! Looking Ahead to 2011 The meetings will be held in Chicago, August 12-14. The program theme is  service sociology - defined by Javier Trevino (SSSP President) as the  sociology of social problems to ameliorate conditions of life for those in need of assistance, & and to inspire and promote the welfare of the community. I propose 3 mental health sessions organized to fit this theme that I think will be broad enough to bring together new and well established scholars. Of course other ideas are welcome and we can have up to 6 more co-sponsored sessions. I. Thematic Mental Health Treatment and Community Care. I think this session fits well with the idea of service sociology. Papers can address new forms of treatment, medicalization of mental health care, mental health providers and patients, and local service agencies. Chicago has a good number of local service providers and researchers and I will bring some of these folks to the table to discuss long standing concerns in meeting the many needs of those with mental health problems. I think this will work well as a panel rather than a regular paper session. II. Mental Illness as a Social Problem: Theoretical and Empirical Frameworks Mental illness, psychiatric hospitalization, coercion and control, homelessness these were the hallmarks of research in the SSSP mental health tradition. What frameworks guide our research today? To what degree do sociologists communicate with the larger public about mental illness as a social problem? What types of solutions do we propose? III. What s Law Got to Do With It? What Impact have Legal Reforms Made on Mental Health Issues? This session is motivated by this years thematic on law and stigma. We now have the ADA, mental health parity, and federal emphasis on  recovery - have these reforms had any impact? More generally, the session will draw those with more general interests in law and mental health. We will be holding elections for the SSSP Mental Health Section President. This is a two year terms, and entails organizing the sessions, ensuring a meeting is held, and Attending Division Chairperson Meetings. Its not hard, and the SSSP (i.e. Michele) handles lots of the details. Also, please look ahead to nominations for the Best Student Paper Award and the Greenley Award. Supporting materials are due May 1 to: Teresa L. Scheid, Department of Sociology 9201 University City Blvd. University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC 28112, tlscheid@uncc.edu