Beers changed mental care forever with the publication of A mind that found itself, an autobiography chronicling his struggle with mental illness and the shameful state of mental health care in the U.S. This book had an immediate impact, spreading his vision of a massive mental health reform movement worldwide. Today, NMHA has a nationwide network of 330 affiliates, involving more than 400,000 volunteers serving over two million people. NMHA is actively involved in impacting policy developments at the federal level through state and federal government affairs departments. ⁴⁸

NMHA public education programs are an integral part of its mission and strategic planning. Specific to depression, in 1993 NMHA launched a National Public Education Campaign on Clinical Depression to inform the American public of the symptoms of depression and provide information about treatment. As part of its Campaign On Clinical Depression, NMHA has focused on depression in the workplace, specifically describing the economic impact of depression, employees' attitudes towards depression, recognizing the symptoms, and where to go for help. This public education campaign continues to demonstrate positive results and acquire more support. For example, there are now numerous professional as well as government organizations which are partners in this campaign. They include the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Public Health Association, Business and Professional Women, the Employee Assistance Professionals Association, the National Black Nurses Association, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the National Medical Association, and the National Institute of Mental Health.⁴⁹

NMHA has also been advocating for parity of mental health benefits with other health coverage. NMHA was at the forefront of efforts to win passage of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. Current efforts are under way to gain broad-based parity which will cover a full range of mental health diagnoses. ⁵⁰

THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR THE MENTALLY III (NAMI)

NAMI is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help support and advocacy organization of consumers and families and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia. Founded in 1979, NAMI has more than 208,000 members with approximately 1,200 state and local affiliates in the U.S. It also has affiliates in Puerto Rico, Canada, and American Samoa and has helped start sister organizations in Australia, Japan and the Ukraine. NAMI, working at the national, state, and local levels, provides education about mental illness, supports increased funding for research and advocates for adequate health insurance, housing, rehabilitation, and employment for people with psychiatric illnesses.⁵¹

NAMI has been a leader in the struggle to end discrimination and stigma against people with mental illness. It has begun a five-year major campaign called Campaign to End Discrimination. This campaign has support from many professional and government organizations such as: the American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Nurses Association, the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.⁵³

This campaign has been funded, in part, by its founding sponsors: Abbott Laboratories, Bristol Squibb Company, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Magellan Health Services, Novartis Pharmaceuticals,