Derek Draper and Dr Cecilia d'Felice announced as Journalist of the Year award winners

Sam Lister of The Times highly commended

Helen Thompson of Gair Rhydd wins first ever Mind Student Journalist of the Year award

For immediate release, Thursday 17 May 2007

Mental health charity Mind yesterday announced Derek Draper and Dr Cecilia d'Felice as joint winners of the BT Mind Journalist of the Year award for 2007. They were nominated for their detailed and innovative feature on depression in Psychologies magazine.

See photos from the awards event.

Derek Draper writes regularly in Psychologies as well as several other publications. Cecilia d'Felice writes in the Independent on Sunday magazine. Derek is also a practising psychotherapist, and Cecilia a clinical psychologist.

Their article on depression was chosen by the judges for its positive and practical approach, going out of its way to de-stigmatise mental distress with positive messages about recovery.

Sam Lister of The Times was highly commended by Mind for his articles on abuse and harassment on mental health wards. Sam's work exposed the findings of a suppressed report into sexual safety for inpatients.

Claire Ashby, Head of Media at Mind, said:

"This year has been the beginning of a breakthrough for mental health. We have seen possibly the greatest ever expansion of awareness of mental ill-health, and its impact both on individuals and on society. As we look to the future, we will rely more than ever on enlightened reporting that breaks rather than builds barriers, and that vividly demonstrates the realities of mental distress.

"All those shortlisted for the award have distinguished themselves with work that makes a strong contribution to public understanding of mental distress, and they have shown courage in pursuing topics that have long been shunned or neglected.

"While today's journalists are laying this path, tomorrow's are close behind. The nominations for our first ever student journalist award were of a high standard, and we can be assured that another generation of journalists will be tackling mental health with the same confidence that those on our Journalist of the Year shortlist have."

"It has never been more important for there to be accurate representations of the reality of mental distress in the media. A robustly funded anti-stigma campaign in Scotland has greatly improved understanding of mental ill-health north of the border, but public prejudice in England is growing. At the same time, the rights of people with mental health problems are threatened in England and Wales, where the Government is pushing ahead with legislation that will fundamentally damage mental health services."

Derek Draper and Cecilia d'Felice said:

"We're very glad that Mind provides a platform for positive mental health coverage to be recognised. It's a great honour to win this award. We're committed to helping people through our writing by giving them the skills to improve their own mental wellbeing.”

First ever Student Journalist Award

Helen Thompson of the University of Cardiff newspaper, Gair Rhydd, collected Mind's first ever award for Student Journalist of the Year. Helen's article on Asperger's syndrome and how students with the condition cope was both readable and rewarding. Her article was selected by the judges for its positive and inclusive feel, as well as the quality of her writing.

The BT Mind Student Journalist of the Year award is a new accolade intended to recognise and encourage high-quality mental health writing in student media. Highly commended for the award was Craig Burnett for a piece on self-harm in the University of Lancaster paper, Scan.

The awards were presented by Melvyn Bragg yesterday (Wednesday 16 May) at the BT Mind Awards event in London. Also presented were awards for BT Mind Book of the Year - which went to Michele Hanson for Living With Mother, her accounts of her mother's dementia; and BT Mind Champion of the Year - awarded to Stephen Fry following a vote on Mind's website, for his hugely-influential programmes on bipolar disorder.

See www.mind.org.uk/News+policy+and+campaigns/Press for more information.

This year, Mind is delighted to announce that BT is sponsoring the Mind Awards. BT's work on employee mental health makes them a leader in the field for promoting mental wellbeing in the workplace.

The BT Mind Awards are part of Mind Week, which this year focuses on the mental health benefits of green exercise - exercise outdoors - and the potential to use ecotherapy to treat mental health problems.

More information: www.mind.org.uk/News+policy+and+campaigns/Press/Mind+Week+ecotherapy.htm

Notes

Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. We work to create a better life for everyone with experience of mental distress.

Please note that Mind is not an acronym, and should be set in title case, not caps.