Nada L. Stotland, MD has been chosen as the fifth recipient of the Abraham L. Halpern Humanitarian Award of the American Association for Social Psychiatry.  She will receive the award at the AASP Humanitarian Award Forum on Sunday, May 15, 2016 in Atlanta.

Dr. Stotland will deliver the keynote address, “Abortion: What’s Happening and Why It Matters to Women, Society, and Psychiatry.”  Her stance on advocacy as an humanitarian—that it requires one to go beyond what is expected and easy—is evident in her very choice of topic.  In her work across the country, Dr. Stotland sees people so conflicted about the topic of abortion that even the term is something about which they can’t talk.  She cites the statistics; the average person who has an abortion tells fewer than two people about it.  As Dr. Stotland states, this means “at least thirty percent of women in the United States have had an abortion, and they can’t tell anyone about it.”  This is an area in which psychiatrists need to be conversant, both among ourselves and with those whom we are treating.

She is currently Professor at Rush Medical College in Chicago, and is a prolific author, especially in the field of women’s health.  Many of her peer-reviewed publications are in this area, and two of her books are on the subject of abortion.  She has also given invited lectures both nationally and internationally, and given innumerable radio, television, and press interviews. Her expert consultations include testimony before Congressional subcommittees on the effects of abortion on women, and the psychological sequelae of pregnancy.

This AASP Award is preceded by three other national awards bestowed on Dr. Stotland in recognition of her outstanding contributions in the areas of community health and mental health, consumer advocacy, public education in psychiatry, and promoting women’s health.

Having held many offices, she is well known as Past President of the American Psychiatric Association and a Past Speaker of the Assembly, and she current serves as President of Senior Psychiatrists of America.

Forum discussant of the keynote address will be internationally recognized leader Helen Hermann, MD, President-Elect of the World Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Hermann is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Research at Orygen: The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, and the Centre for Youth Mental Health at The University of Melbourne, Australia.  She is also Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for mental health in Melbourne. President of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists, and Vice-President of the International Association of Women’s Mental Health.

The Humanitarian Award Forum will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building B, Level 2, Room B206, on Sunday, May 15, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.