For Immediate Release
Noted Child Psychiatrist Harold Koplewicz, MD, Speaks Out on the Parkland Shooting and Mental Health
Contact: Kathryn Ryan
914-740-2250
kryan@liebertpub.com
New Rochelle, NY, February 23, 2018— Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology and President of the Child Mind Institute in New York, has spoken out on the Parkland shooting and mental health. “The national response to the tragic Parkland shooting is unfolding in a different way than those that came before. The news is focusing less on the troubled hopes, dreams, and fantasies of a killer. This takes momentum away from the cycle of violence and focuses energy where it should be: with victims, with survivors, with problem solvers. The focus is on teens around the country calling for action, and it is remarkable.
“In this atmosphere, we must not forget about mental health. I can see the phrase turning into a cop-out or a dirty word in the fight over gun policy. We can’t let that happen. Families come in different shapes and sizes, but all of them find that when it comes to mental health disorders, they are flying blind. We need to provide information, support, and treatment so parents, caregivers, and guardians of troubled young people know what to do before their children hurt themselves or others.
“Families and communities should understand that social isolation can be self-perpetuating and is very harmful for kids with emotional problems. Schools need to be better attuned to the mental and behavioral health of their communities and better equipped to voice those concerns before a student drops out or gets expelled.
“And what everyone needs to know is that people with psychiatric disorders are no more likely to be violent than the general population. And the most important risk factor for violence, whether it’s to oneself or to others, is the presence of firearms.”
Dr. Koplewicz is available for interviews and comments. Contact kryan@liebertpub.com for details.
About the Journal
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal is dedicated to child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral pediatrics, covering clinical and biological aspects of child and adolescent psychopharmacology and developmental neurobiology. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology website.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Games for Health Journal, and Violence and Gender. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.