The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
2006-2007

Alix Spiegel
Freelance Reporter
National Public Radio
Washington, D.C., USA

TOPIC: Document the psychosocial impact of Hurricane Katrina on the residents of the Gulf Coast through several follow-up radio stories.

Stuck and Suicidal in a Post-Katrina Trailer Park
The first morning of my visit to Scenic Trails, I was walking the path between some trailers when I bumped into a man named Tim Szepek. He was young, tall, and solidly good-looking. I asked if I could speak to him for a moment and he agreed. We found a spot of shade beneath a tree, and I started with what I considered a casual warm-up.

Post Katrina Mental Health: What Can Be Done?
What is the source of the dysfunction in the FEMA trailer parks, and what can possibly be done to help? In the second part of the Scenic Trails story, Alix Spiegel talks to government officials, mental health counselors, church volunteers and others.

Two Years After Katrina, the Mattios Return Home
Two years after Hurricane Katrina, some former residents of New Orleans are still struggling to put their lives back together. One family, the Mattios, spent eight trying months after the storm in a single motel room in Baton Rouge, among prostitutes and drug dealers. They finally moved into a small, dark, but affordable, apartment nearby.

New Orleans Suffers Crisis in Mental Health Care
Since Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, mental health resources have been in short supply. Before the storm, there were 240 hospital psychiatric beds in Orleans Parish, but now there are only 30, and with so few hospital beds for the mentally ill, people in the city have been forced to take extreme measures.

Seizure Drug Shows Promise Against Alcoholism
Alcohol-dependent patients who received topiramate, a seizure medication, had fewer heavy-drinking days, fewer drinks per day and more days of continuous abstinence than those who received placebo, according to a study in the Oct. 10 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

Despite Worries, Psychiatric Hospital Bans Smoking
Smoking bans have taken hold in workplaces, restaurants and hospitals around the nation. But as recently as last year, a survey showed that 59 percent of psychiatric hospitals in the United States still allowed patients to smoke.

Study: Adoption Not Harmful to Child's Self-Esteem
New research challenges the common perception that adoption negatively impacts a child's self-esteem. A study by a Dutch researcher shows that adopted children tend to overcome developmental and emotional problems, and achieve a normal level of self-esteem.

Many Psychiatrists Self-Prescribe, Study Says
A new study from a professor at the University of Michigan looks at how frequently psychiatrists prescribe medication for themselves. The study finds that many are writing their own prescriptions to avoid the stigma associated with being a doctor with a mental health problem.

Study Ties Concussions to PTSD
A new study of traumatic brain injury finds a strong association between concussions and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings were based on reviews of more than 2,000 soldiers.

Soldiers' Head Injuries May Contribute to PTSD
Traumatic brain injury has been labeled the signature injury of the Iraq war. It's estimated that between 10 percent and 20 percent of soldiers who have served in Iraq have suffered from this kind of wound.

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills
On October 3, 1955, the Mickey Mouse Club debuted on television. As we all now know, the show quickly became a cultural icon, one of those phenomena that helped define an era.
What is less remembered but equally, if not more, important, is that another transformative cultural event happened that day: The Mattel toy company began advertising a gun called the "Thunder Burp."