Brain dance     

 

 

 

 

What is Brain Dance?

 

    The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital is sponsoring an academic competition designed to decrease the stigma of mental illness.  The BrainDance Awards encourage students to gain knowledge about psychiatric diseases and develop a more tolerant and realistic perspective toward people with severe psychiatric problems. The competition also aims to promote students’ interest in careers in mental health care.

 

BrainDance 2006 Winner Jessica Lowney Honored by Connecticut Legislators

from left:  Melissa Olson, Edward Jutila, Elizabeth (Betsy) Ritter, Joan Lewis, Jessica Lowney, Edith Prague, Cathy Cooke, Walter Pawelkiewicz (Art Photo by Pietro)

 

    To receive a BrainDance Award, a student must submit an academic project on themes related to severe mental illness. The projects can be in any format, including research studies, reviews, essays and/or art.  Submissions concerning the psychological, social, treatment or brain functioning related to severe mental illness will be considered. 

    Students can compete at one of three levels: high school, college or graduate/post doctoral studies.  An award of $1000 will be given to the best overall submission. Three awards of $500 will be given to the first place projects at each academic level and ten $100 awards will be given to runners-up.

 

A special grant of $1000 will be given to the teacher whose students submit the most notable projects.  For more information on the special grant, click here

 

BrainDance Awards Celebration:    All applicants, their teachers, families and classmates will be invited to a research day hosted by The Institute of Living on April 25, 2007. This day is designed to be an educational extension opportunity and will include: a lecture by a national expert on mental illness, an awards presentation, a visit to a museum on the history of mental health care, a tour of a neuro-imaging research center and a luncheon where students can meet professionals in mental health care.  The overall winner and the first place winners at each academic level will present brief lectures summarizing their projects.  All other applicants will be encouraged to present a poster describing their project.  The student lectures and poster presentations are designed so that all participants can cite their BrainDance projects on future school or job applications

The awards are coordinated by:

James Seltzer, M.B.A., Ph.D., Senior Consultant for Schizophrenia Services and Godfrey Pearlson, M.D., Director, Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center. For more information: contact James Seltzer at 860-545-7252 or jseltze@harthosp.org or Godfrey Pearlson at 860-545-7757 or gpearls@harthosp.org.

• How do I apply?
• How are projects judged?
• Past Winners
• ADS Center - Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma
• Stipend for Teachers