AT THE HELEN AND ARTHUR E. JOHNSON DEPRESSION CENTER
thank you With your partnership, we continue to elevate the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus as a national leader and a destination for the latest knowledge and education about depression and mood disorders. We remain committed to further uniting the mental health resources and expertise on our campus and across Colorado to serve more people and more families, and to reach them where they are when they need us. Our pilot telehealth initiative in Eagle County, Colorado, proved successful, and our program has since reached people all across the state and now serves as a model to replicate across the country. Our skilled clinicians and staff are building on traditional care models and creating new, innovative approaches to serving patients and families in all stages of life. By offering thriving community outreach programs, we are reaching thousands of people each year, as well as developing additional preventative programming, and promoting early intervention and mental wellness, rather than
crisis care. Through partnerships with veterans groups, we are reaching more of those who so selflessly served our country, including veterans living in rural areas. We are expanding our reach virtually as well, through a cache of free resources, coping tools and informational videos on our website. Because of your vision and generosity, the list of the ways we are reaching those who need us continues to lengthen. These efforts translate directly into lives changed and lives saved. We are making the impossible possible every day at the Johnson Depression Center, and I am grateful for your partnership as we set our sights on all that lies ahead. Sincerely, - Marshall Thomas, MD Marsico Chair for Excellence Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine Executive Director, Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center
YOU’VE MADE THIS POSSIBLE Philanthropy allows us to make a meaningful difference in mental health throughout the state of Colorado. With your support, we are reducing the stigma of mental and behavioral health, and providing care to thousands. Over the past two years, we have witnessed remarkable successes including: • Developed a four-part series of mental wellness workshops for coaches and mentors to provide training and expert advice to those in the athletic field, and to help them better support their staff and athletes. • Hosted 750 attendees at the 9th annual luncheon on November 1, 2019, and raised over $500,000. • Held a special luncheon with the CU Foundation Board of Trustees in May 2019 to better understand happiness.
by the numbers
*giving to the Johnson Depression Center since 2017
$
1
977
$16,284,631
638
unique benefactors
total giving
first-time benefactors
ST
FUELED BY PHILANTHROPY The benefactor-funded Toolbox Learning Series is the cornerstone of our free community programs. The series provides lifelong skills and tools to bolster mental wellness within our community. The event is led by an expert clinician, who covers relevant mental health topics including mindfulness, depression in teens, anxiety and transitions. We are also expanding our efforts in community outreach and education under the direction of Alex Yannacone, MA, community programs manager. When Alex first arrived, she educated more than 3,000 individuals across the state and built strong partnerships to aid in our efforts today. In year two, Alex doubled the number of people trained on topics including trauma, stress management and suicide prevention to nearly 7,000, and we are excited to continue growing these efforts. Working Minds is a suicide prevention program designed for the workplace. Since the highest rates of suicide are for individuals ages 45 to 64, it is vitally important that we offer resources to this population. More days of work loss and work impairment are caused by mental illness than many other chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and arthritis. Depression is estimated to cause 200 million lost workdays every year, costing employers up to $44 billion. By launching Working Minds, we are trying to change this by encouraging early identification of depression and early intervention in the workplace.
CHRISTOPHER SCHNECK, MD Medical Director, Johnson Depression Center Associate Professor, CU Department of Psychiatry
As medical director for the Johnson Depression Center, Christopher Schneck, MD, oversees all of the patient care delivered by center providers. His other roles at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus include serving in the outpatient division of UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and as behavioral health director of the UCHealth Infectious Disease Clinic. In addition to seeing patients, Dr. Schneck teaches courses at the CU School of Medicine.
“Philanthropy allows us to deliver specialized, high-quality care for patients suffering from mood and anxiety disorders, to educate the community about these disorders and thereby reduce the stigma of mental illness, and to create a clear vision in which understanding and treating mood disorders is the entire focus.”
AIMEE SULLIVAN, PHD Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Psychologist, Johnson Depression Center
Dr. Sullivan is a licensed clinical psychologist who uses evidence-based psychotherapies to work with children and adults with mood and anxiety symptoms. She has a special interest in family-focused therapy to treat bipolar disorders. With generous support from our community, Dr. Sullivan has trained over 150 Colorado clinicians on family-focused therapy for bipolar youth and young adults. Nationally, only 50% of individuals with bipolar disorder receive any treatment throughout their lives, and of those who are treated, only 19% receive adequate care.
“A distressing number of individuals only receive care when their illness has reached a crisis. Too many clinicians feel unequipped to treat patients with severe mental illness, and it is my goal to ensure that more people in Colorado have adequate care. Family-focused therapy for individuals with bipolar disorders is an evidencebased treatment that shows promise, but has limited availability in our communities. Philanthropy allows me to expand this option to more patients.”
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