The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
2005-2006

Karen Brown
Reporter, WFCR-FM
Northampton, Mass., USA

TOPIC: Produce a radio documentary on the effects of mental illnesses on siblings, from growing up with a brother or sister with a mental illness to forging relationships as an adult.

A Burden to be Well: Sisters and Brothers of the Mentally Ill
This documentary focuses on the issues and emotions that face the sisters and brothers of people with mental illness. These siblings often feel ignored by family, health care providers, and society at large while the ill sibling takes up most of the available attention.

Marriage Suffers Under the Strain of PTSD 
Anna and Peter Mohan are a couple in their 20s who married just before Peter went to Iraq with the Army. When he came back, Peter was a different man — morose, withdrawn and, eventually, suicidal.

Divorce is Hidden Cost of Iraq War, Couple Says
Last spring, Anna and Peter Mohan, a young couple from Western Massachusetts, were coping with the aftermath of war. Peter has suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder since his 2004 return from Iraq.

Child Mental Health Screenings
As of January 1st, all pediatricians in Massachusetts are required to screen their young medicaid patients for mental health problems. It's a court-mandated move that supporters hope will identify more troubled children and get them earlier treatment.