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TREATMENT ADVOCACY CENTER WINS 2006 APA PRESIDENTIAL COMMENDATION
AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT COMMENDS TAC FOR "EXTRAORDINARY ADVOCACY"

ARLINGTON, VA, May 1, 2006 - The Treatment Advocacy Center has won the American Psychiatric Association’s Presidential Commendation for “sustained extraordinary advocacy on behalf of the most vulnerable mentally ill patients who lack the insight to seek and continue effective care and benefit from assisted outpatient treatment.”

The Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating legal and clinical barriers to timely and humane treatment for people with severe brain disorders who are not receiving appropriate medical care. TAC educates legislators and the media on the benefits of assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) to improve outdated treatment laws that keep people from getting the help they need. Since TAC opened its doors in 1998, this small organization has been involved in changes in treatment laws in 17 states.

“One of the great tragedies of modern psychiatry is the large number of individuals with mental illnesses who are incarcerated or homeless,” said APA President Steve Sharfstein, M.D. “This is the inevitable consequence of our reluctance to use caring, coercive approaches, such as assisted outpatient treatment. The Treatment Advocacy Center has been the catalyst for many positive changes in our laws and a shift in our perception of the importance of intervention. Their unique advocacy is restoring the important balance between individual freedom and caring coercion.”

Assisted outpatient treatment allows courts to order people who meet specific criteria to receive outpatient mental health treatment. AOT helps those who are the most ill and often unable to make informed treatment decisions for themselves. Results from states that use AOT show marked reductions in the incidents and duration of hospitalization, homelessness, arrests and incarcerations, victimization, and violent episodes. AOT also increases treatment compliance, promotes long-term voluntary compliance, and improves quality of life.

"Until we find the causes and definitive treatments for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, we have an obligation to those who are suffering to try to improve their lives,” said TAC president E. Fuller Torrey, M.D. “Except for biological chance, any one of us might today be there, living on the streets or in jail. TAC is the only organization willing to take on this fight, and I am very proud to be part of it."

TAC executive director Mary T. Zdanowicz will accept the award at the 2006 APA Annual Meeting in Toronto later this month. Past winners include Rosalyn Carter and U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and Nancy Domenici.

The Treatment Advocacy Center (www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illnesses. TAC promotes laws, policies, and practices for the delivery of psychiatric care and supports the development of innovative treatments for and research into the causes of severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

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