I’m traveling to Washington DC on Friday to go to the Mental Health America annual conference. I’m very excited to be able to share the reason for my trip: Postpartum Progress won a 2011 Media Award.

On Saturday at the awards banquet, MHA will present the 16 winners of the 2011 Media Awards, given for “outstanding coverage and portrayals of mental health issues during the previous year”. Below is a list of all of the winners. I’m so honored that Postpartum Progress is among these fellow honorees I can hardly stand it! (CNN?! Sports Illustrated? Self! Seriously?!) I’m also extremely proud that postpartum depression is represented among the awards, as I hope it helps us continue to spread awareness.

Mental Health America (formerly called the National Mental Health Association) is the nation’s largest and oldest organization helping Americans achieve wellness by living mentally healthy lives. With more than 300 affiliates across the country, they touch the lives of millions.

2011 MHA Media Awards

Student Journalism:Jonathan Michels,“Dix patients fear losing safety net”,reesenews.org

Coverage of a Mental Health Issue:Pablo S. Torre,“A Light in the Darkness”,Sports Illustrated

National Magazines:Rachel Aviv,“Which Way Madness Lies: Can psychosis be prevented?”,Harper’s Magazine

Blogs:Katherine Stone,“The Six Stages of Postpartum Depression”,PostpartumProgress.com

National Radio:Amy Bracken,“Haiti’s Traumatized Earthquake Survivors”,PRI’s The World

National Television:Paul Allen,”This Emotional Life”,Vulcan Productions

Local Radio:Gabriel Spitzer,“As State Cuts Aid, a Scramble to Get Benefits for Homeless”,WBEZ (Chicago, IL)

First Person Account of a Mental Health Issue:Lauren Slater, Writer; Paula Derrow, Articles Director;“Would You Rather Be Fat and Happy or Thin and Sad”,SELF Magazine

Coverage of Mental Health Research:Roxanne Khamsi,“Timing is everything”,Nature Medicine

Documentary:Delaney Ruston, MD,”Unlisted: A Story of Schizophrenia”,MyDoc Productions

Local/Regional Magazines:Joel Warner,“Martial Law”,Westword

Local/Regional Websites:Aaron Glantz,Coverage of Veterans Mental Health Issues,The Bay Citizen

Portrayal of Persons with a Mental Health Condition:Bob Drury,“Invisible Soldiers”,Women’s Health

National Websites:Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent; Sabriya Rice, CNN Medical Producer,“How to save a friend from the brink”,CNNhealth.com-The Empowered Patient

Newspapers with a Circulation Above 100,000:Meg Kissinger and Steve Schultze,“Patients in Peril”,Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)

Newspapers with a Circulation Below 100,000:Mary Ann Ford and Edith Brady-Lunny,“Recovery Court” series,The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL)