75 Years and 75 Seconds
• 75th Anniversary
Transcript
NARRATOR: In the aftermath of World War II, America faced a great and compelling need to address the nation’s mental health. In response, President Harry Truman signed legislation leading to the 1949 creation of the National Institute of Mental Health.
JOHN F. KENNEDY: It has been tolerated too long; it has troubled our national conscience, but only as a problem unpleasant to mention, easy to postpone, and despairing of solutions. The time has come for a great national effort.
NARRATOR: The National Institute of Mental Health was at the heart of this effort.
SOUND CLIP: For the first time, man now has the tools to explore the living brain.
NARRATOR: Today, the National Institute of Mental Health is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders, supporting discovery across the country and the world. We aim to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research. To envision a world in which mental illnesses are prevented and cured.