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Jeanne Blake |
Jeanne Blake Receives Award from MSPP
Jeanne Blake is an affiliated faculty member at the Division on Addictions, founder of Words Can Work® and the president of Blake Works. We are pleased to announce that Blake has received the 2010 Mental Health Humanitarian Award from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology.
Gloucester Times
May 24, 2010
Business briefcase
Jeanne Blake, a resident of Gloucester and New York City, is the 2010
recipient of the Mental Health Humanitarian Award from the Massachusetts
School of Professional Psychology (MSPP) for her tireless efforts to
increase awareness of children's health issues and needs.
Each year, MSPP presents its humanitarian award to a person who has
demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the needs of the community.
"Jeanne is someone whose commitment to the health and mental health of
children truly exemplifies the spirit of this award," said MSPP President
Dr. Nicholas Covino, in a statement.
Blake is a medical reporter, author, and affiliated faculty member of the
Division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School. She also is a trustee of
McLean Hospital.
In 1984, Blake created the medical beat for WBZ-TV, the Boston NBC
affiliate. In 1991, she founded Blake Works Inc. (certified as a Woman Owned
Business) and Family Health Productions, which produce, publish, and
distribute the Words Can Work¬Ć series of DVDs, booklets and Online
programs, to support young people, families, and communities in talking
about the public and mental health challenges kids face growing up.
Blake provides consulting services in the field of parent/child
communication and speaks nationally to parents, and health care
professionals in corporate and community settings. Blake Works has formed a
partnership with former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher's Health
Leadership Institute to will create Town Hall Meetings on mental health
nationally, which Blake will moderate.
Blake has appeared on "Oprah," "The Today Show," "The Cristina Show," and
CNN. Her work has been featured on National Public Radio and Bloomberg
Radio.
At WBZ-TV, Blake earned the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Award for
coverage of HIV/AIDS and was recognized by Americans for Democratic Action
and the Human Rights Campaign for coverage of health care issues.
Her book, "Risky Times: How to be AIDS-Smart and Stay Healthy" (Workman,
1991) was named to the American Library Association's lists of Best Books
for the Young Adult Reader and Best Books for the Reluctant Reader.
Blake is a member of American Psychological Association's Task Force on the
Sexualization of Girls, and was a Kaiser Media Fellow in Health.
Medical Journalist Jeanne Blake Joins McLean Hospital Board
We are pleased to announce that Blake has been named to the board of McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School and an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital.
For Immediate Release
February 13,
2009
Contact
Laura Neves
McLean Hospital
617.855.2110
BELMONT, MA—McLean Hospital has announced the appointment of Jeanne Blake, a
critically acclaimed medical reporter, author and producer, to its board of
trustees.
Blake will use her commitment to educating the public about mental and
public health and her experience as a journalist to promote understanding of
psychiatric illness.
"There is a greater acceptance of people living with mental illness, but the
stigma remains," Blake says. "Too often people are afraid or feel ashamed to
ask for help. As a member of the McLean Hospital board, I will use my skills
and expertise to help raise awareness about mental illness and how we can
encourage more people to seek life transforming and lifesaving medical
treatment."
Blake is president and founder of Blake Works Inc. and Family Health
Productions. Her Words Can Work® evidence-based media (DVDs, Words Can Work
family guides and wordscanwork.com)
address the challenges young people face growing up. Her productions
including Alcohol: True Stories Hosted by Matt Damon; Depression: True
Stories; Drugs: True Stories and Steroids: True Stories Hosted by Curt
Schilling serve as a catalyst for potentially lifesaving dialogue among
young people and parents. They are incorporated into programs nationally by
thousands of healthcare and community organizations, schools, and corporate
work/life programs.
Blake's newest product in development is the Words Can Work online corporate
employee program to support parents in talking with their kids.
"When young people can talk openly and honestly with a parent or another
adult they trust, and really feel listened to, they tend to make better
choices," Blake says. "Ultimately these kids grow up more safely and parents
can be less stressed and more productive at work and in life."
This fall, Blake partnered with McLean Hospital Chief Medical Officer Joseph
Gold, MD, to train Boston Public School mental health personnel. The
program, addressing depression and suicide prevention, was so well received
that Blake and Dr. Gold are developing additional online training sessions
for educators and others who work with youth.
"The feedback was tremendous," Blake says. "One counselor reported that in
the week following the training she felt significantly better equipped to
meet the needs of a student who was suicidal. This is an example of how we
can make a difference in peoples' lives and one of the many reasons I'm
committed to McLean Hospital's mission."
From 1984 to 1991, Blake was a medical reporter and anchor at Boston's
CBS-TV affiliate where she earned the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism
Award, was recognized by Americans for Democratic Action, and was honored by
the Human Rights Campaign for her coverage of health-care issues.
Blake, who lives in New York City and Gloucester, Massachusetts, serves on
the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of
Girls and is president of the Perfect Storm Foundation in Gloucester.
McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical
School, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of
Partners HealthCare. For more information about McLean Hospital, visit
www.mclean.harvard.edu.