National Mental Health Act

National Mental Health Act
Citations

Long title	An Act to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for research relating to psychiatric disorders and to aid in the development of more effective methods of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of such disorders, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	NMHA
Nicknames	National Mental Health Act of 1946
Enacted by	the 79th United States Congress
Effective	July 3, 1946
Public Law	79-487
Statutes at Large	60 Stat. 421
Codification
Titles amended	42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 4512 Passed the House on March 15, 1946 (passed) Passed the Senate on June 15, 1946 (passed voice vote) Reported by the joint conference committee on June 26, 1946; agreed to by the Senate on June 26, 1946 (agreed) and by the House on June 27, 1946 (agreed) Signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on July 3, 1946

President Truman signed the National Mental Health Act (1946), which called for the establishment of a National Institute of Mental Health. The first meeting of the National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC) was held on August 15. Because no federal funds had yet been appropriated for the new institute, the Greentree Foundation financed the meeting.

This act came out of the realization, post World War II, of the high percentage of mental health issues in the population. This was realized because soldiers put under stress during the war, and later psychoanalyzed upon return to the States, showed a high incidence of prior mental health issues, completely aside from the issues that might have arisen from combat and wartime situations of high pressure.

In other words, wartime pressures had stirred up repressed mental issues in the soldiers, who were a representative statistical sample of the general population, gender aside. From this result, the government realized it had a very serious and large problem on its hands, a population with a high incidence of mental health issues, and therefore should take care of it immediately via government intervention, in the aim to cut off future social pathologies.

The Menninger brothers set about training analysts, to fill the vacuum that existed at that time.

References

http://www.nih.gov/about/almanac/organization/NIMH.htm

Harry S. Truman

May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953) 34th Vice President of the United States (1945) U.S. Senator from Missouri (1935–1945)

Presidency	1945 inauguration 1949 inauguration Potsdam Conference Agreement on Europe Declaration to Japan Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Fair Deal Mental Health Act National Institute of Mental Health National School Lunch Act Employment Act of 1946 Council of Economic Advisers Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan Loyalty Order National Security Act of 1947 Joint Chiefs of Staff National Security Council Department of the Air Force Central Intelligence Agency Key West Agreement Joint Long Range Proving Grounds Revolt of the Admirals Committee on Civil Rights Integration of the Armed Forces Housing Act of 1949 North Atlantic Treaty NATO Assassination attempt Korean War U.N. Security Council Resolutions 82, 83 Relief of General MacArthur Office of Defense Mobilization Science Advisory Committee 1952 steel strike Puerto Rican constitutional referendum, 1952 National Security Agency State of the Union Address (1946 1950 1952) Judicial appointments Supreme Court Cabinet Truman Balcony "The buck stops here"

Life	Early life and career Presidential Library, Museum, and gravesite Missouri Office and Courtroom Truman Committee Democratic vice presidential nomination of 1944

Books	Bibliography Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Year of Decisions Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope

Homes	Birthplace Harry S. Truman Farm Home Harry S. Truman home and National Historic Site Historic District Blair House Truman Little White House

Elections	United States Senate election in Missouri, 1934 1940 Democratic National Convention 1944 1948 United States presidential election, 1944 1948 "Dewey Defeats Truman" campaign song Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1952

Legacy	Truman Day Harry S Truman Building Truman Dam and Reservoir Harry S. Truman Scholarship Truman Sports Complex Postage stamps

Related	Give 'em Hell, Harry (1975 play and film) Truman (1995 film)

Family	Bess Wallace Truman (wife) Margaret Truman (daughter) John Anderson Truman (father) Martha Ellen Young Truman (mother) Clifton Daniel (son-in-law)

← Franklin D. Roosevelt Dwight D. Eisenhower→ Commons Wikibooks Wikiquote Wikisource texts

National Mental Health Act

See also

References