The color green is known to symbolize rebirth, the return of spring and the healing of nature, but for the month of May it also stands for something much greater.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States, and the green ribbon is the international symbol of mental health awareness, meant to evoke feelings of tranquility and togetherness. Mental Health America has been observing May as National Mental Health Awareness Month since 1949, working to increase awareness of mental wellness in Americans’ lives, reduce stigma on the subject of mental health and celebrate recovery from mental illness.
Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness – and the issue is not just a national one. Ourworldindata.org reported that a 2017 study found that an estimated 792 million people live with a mental health disorder, which equates to roughly 10.7% of the global population.
Fortunately, as stated by the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made the improvement of mental health globally a key priority, as exemplified by the extension of their Mental Health Action Plan to 2030, and organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) are dedicated to promoting the advancement, communication and application of psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.
On the APA’s website, users can find a plethora of resources to explore topics related to alleviating stress, improving mental wellness and adopting practices for leading healthy lifestyles. Students, teachers and aspiring psychologists can also explore the Education and Career section of the APA’s website to learn more about the field of psychology as it pertains to higher education.
EBSCO proudly offers a suite of APA Databases® – APA PsycInfo®, APA PsycArticles®, APA PsycBooks®, APA PsycTherapy®, APA PsycTests® and APA PsycExtra® – which provides researchers with an unsurpassed collection of indexing and rich, full-text content and training videos that spans the full spectrum of psychology and related fields. Composed to elevate the conversation on behavioral science, these databases are paving the way for students and scholars alike to promote an understanding and awareness of mental health that did not exist in years prior.
In the last 20 years, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, alongside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Government and public health community, have made tremendous strides in the prevention and treatment of mental illnesses. Some examples from youth.gov include the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance coverage to approximately 30 million Americans by 2016, and The Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, which provides financial assistance to states and territories seeking to offer comprehensive, community-based mental health services.
Initiatives such as these, as well as resources offered by organizations like the APA, are making it possible to promote mental health wellness and awareness not just in the month of May, but on a regular, yearly basis. EBSCO has also published related blog posts such as Seven Tips for Managing Stress and Explore Five APA PsycInfo Searches that users can read anytime to learn more about these topics.
Does your organization provide behavioral health counseling, instruction or research? If so, download the ebrochure to learn more about APA Databases.
Get Involved:
There are lots of ways to get involved and recognize Mental Health Awareness Month this May. In addition to wearing green and encouraging others at your institution to do the same, check out MHA’s Mental Health Month campaign toolkit, which is updated yearly and includes social media resources, printable informational handouts, posters and DIY tools that can aid in promoting awareness activities.
You can also click here to read about “27 Ideas to Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month” and join the conversation.
Explore Related Resources from EBSCO:
- Health and Psychosocial Instruments – Produced by Behavioral Measurement Database Services, this bibliographic database is abstracted from hundreds of leading journals in the health and social sciences. HaPI provides comprehensive information about behavioral measurement tools, including those related to medicine and nursing, as well as clinical, personality, social and developmental psychology.
- Mental Measurements Yearbook – Produced by the Buros Center for Testing at the University of Nebraska, this database provides a comprehensive guide to contemporary testing instruments. Designed for an audience ranging from novice test consumers to experienced professionals, the series contains information for evaluating test products in psychology, education, business and leadership.
- Social Work Abstracts – Produced by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), this database provides indexing and abstracts for journals dealing with all aspects of the social work field, including theory and practice, areas of service and social issues and problems.
- PEP Archive – PEP Archive is the essential database for psychoanalytic research. Covering many languages and notable authors, it offers peer-reviewed, full-text journals and classic books for psychoanalytic studies. PEP Archive includes all 24 volumes of the Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud as well as the 19-volume German Freud Standard Edition, Gesammelte Werke.
- Psychology and Behavioral Science Collection – Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection is an essential full-text database for psychologists, counselors, researchers and students. It provides hundreds of full-text psychology journals, including many indexed in APA PsycInfo. It offers particularly strong coverage in child and adolescent psychology and counseling.
- EBSCO eBooks Psychology/Psychiatry Subscription Collection – This collection includes more than 700 popular selections in psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, counseling, social psychology, evolutionary psychology, developmental psychology and more.
