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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		The American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.
DATE:		March 12, 2000

I'm tempted to say that I'm humbled by this honor - but I remember the words of the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir who, in a similar circumstance, told a speaker, "Don't be so humble, you're not that great."

On the other hand, Prime Minister Meir never met the smart people assembled here. Unfortunately, my friend, Janet Hyde, cannot be here today because she just had back surgery. My friend, Janet Hyde, embodies the deep passion that runs to the core of the American Psychological Association.

From laboratory to classroom to private practice that passion is to understand who we are as human beings, why we think and act as we do, why we love, why some children grow up to be great scientists or artists - and others grow up troubled and pained.

Shakespeare famously wrote that, "All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players." Well we now know a lot more about how the players play - and why. And for that, the real honor today belongs to each and every one of you.

I've spent almost half my adult life in public service and the other half in the academy - places of evidence-based decisions. In both these places I can say that decision making is of a higher quality. But that same kind of logic and careful thinking is no longer limited to government and the university. It's everywhere.

Today we can truly say: Ours is a golden age of insight into the workings of the human mind. In fact, Congress officially named the 1990's "The Decade of the Brain."

It's no coincidence we've become so involved in unraveling the underpinnings of how we think and why we act. We now know that behavior is a major factor in determining the health of our nation. For example, research shows us - and common sense tells us - that adhering closely to a prescribed drug regimen results in better health outcomes.

So why do some patients fail to stick with their treatment?

Research psychology is helping us answer that question. Research also shows that behavioral changes can help prevent HIV/AIDS - and dramatically reduce the risk of other major diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

But how do we bring about those behavioral changes? Research psychology is helping us answer this question too.

There is also the painful reality of youth violence. For several decades, researchers have been investigating the causes of youth violence. Incidents like Columbine demonstrate that many questions are still unanswered. But, again, research psychology, is helping us learn why children turn violent - and what kind of intervention programs work.

So you deserve great praise for your long history of helping us understand humanity's psychological history. Still, you should never have to carry on this search alone.

That's why at HHS we're renewing our commitment to basic behavioral research. Last year, we increased our funding for the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research at NIH by more than 6 million dollars. We're making sure every Institute at NIH has a behavioral research program. We're supporting leading-edge studies that will develop behavioral interventions for youth violence - and encourage prevention, treatment, and maintenance of behavioral change.

Similarly, we're working hard to use behavioral science to advance other compelling public health needs - including exercise, weight reduction and avoidance of illicit drugs and alcohol.

Our colleagues at the National Science Foundation are also expanding their commitment to research psychology. Their FY 2001 budget requests nearly 60 million dollars for behavioral and cognitive science research - a 31 percent increase over last year.

The point is this: Behavioral research is now a standard part of the government's commitment to ending the Decade of the Brain. As the many members of the American Psychological Association who work directly with patients know, better mental health treatment must also be one of our goals for what I believe will be a new century of the brain.

President Clinton said it best when he said: "We must make it clear that mental illness is no different from physical illness." That's why our FY 2001 budget calls for a 17 percent increase in the Mental Health Block Grant. That's why last June, we held the first-ever White House Conference on Mental Health - led by President Clinton and Tipper Gore. And that's why last December we released the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health.

Let me talk for a few moments about the new Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health because it was a critical wake-up call to the fact that mental health is fundamental to our overall health.

From children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - to seniors struggling with Alzheimer's Disease - mental illness spans the arc of life. No one is immune.

But the most important lesson that we must keep in mind is that while no one is immune, everyone is treatable. That's the message of the Surgeon General's report. But it's also your message.

Like you, we want to bring mental illness out from the darkness, and into the national spotlight. We also want to build on what we already know.

How, for example, is mental illness is related to race and culture?

To help answer that question, we expect to release by early summer a supplement to the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health. This supplement will focus specifically on mental health issues related to race, ethnicity and culture.

That will be another important step forward. But we still have a long way to go. We must replace the silence and shame of mental illness, with understanding and hope. We cannot be self-satisfied. And above all - we cannot leave the hard work to someone else. It is our challenge to make sure the unquiet mind does not suffer quietly - or alone.

You have led that challenge throughout the long and proud history of the American Psychological Association. Hold on to your commitment. Hold on to your compassion. Hold on to your professionalism and rigor and integrity. They are what will carry us into a future of new behavioral research, of better and more effective mental health services, and of a deeper understanding of our common humanity.

Thank you.