Horizons – Spring 2018

With depression being the leading cause of illness and disability worldwide, this issue features a new research endowment established by a former trustee and her family. The $1 million fund will prioritize studies focused on adolescents, as depression commonly onsets in youth.

More and more, there is hope that technology can improve the way we diagnose and treat depression—as well as many other mental health conditions. An award-winning app, a spectacularly successful summit, and an innovative device to improve the lives of older patients with dementia all are highlighted.

Finally, read more about McLean’s growing partnerships with schools seeking to meet the mental health needs of their students.

Brudnick Family Funds Adolescent Depression Research
Irving Brudnick’s struggle with chronic depression began in his late teens and, according to his widow, Betty, the disease troubled him for much of his adult life.

McLean Team Wins Technology Competition
A McLean team took home the top prize in the 2017 Partners Connected Health Innovation Challenge for their proposal to translate a highly effective addiction treatment into a platform for mobile phones and other devices.

Summit Envisions Future of Technology in Psychiatry
Technology is ubiquitous. It is no surprise that the field of psychiatry is forging a path toward using technology to revolutionize the way mental illnesses are diagnosed and treated as well as how outcomes are measured.

A New Kind of Learning: McLean Teaches Schools in Joint Effort to Help Youth
They are teens, preteens, and even elementary school students who avoid school and rack up absences. They grapple with severe depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, and sometimes it gets so bad they need to be hospitalized.

Paying It Forward
Ten years ago, then 27-year-old Mike Muccio thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke. His heart raced, he was dizzy, off-balance, and felt like he was dying—and it kept happening.