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Patrick Kennedy

  • U.S. Representative for Rhode Island (1995-2011)
  • Co-Founder, One Mind for Research
  • Founder, Kennedy Forum on Community Mental Health
  • Advisor to Smart Approaches to Marijuana: Preventing Another Big Tobacco

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Representative Patrick Kennedy served 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is predominantly known as author and lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. This dramatic piece of legislation provides tens of millions of Americans who were previously denied care with access to mental health treatment. After leaving congress in 2010, Rep. Kennedy co-founded One Mind, a national coalition seeking new treatments and cures for neurologic and psychiatric diseases of the brain afflicting one in every three Americans. He is also involved in setting policy recommendations for Smart Approaches to Marijuana, as part of a bipartisan collection of professionals to educate based on science, health, mental wellness and public safety.

As one of the world’s leading mental health advocates, Rep. Kennedy speaks on topics such as eliminating the stigma of mental illness, brain research, the impact of public policy on our healthcare system, and many other mental health and substance abuse issues.

 

Patrick Kennedy headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Rose Hill Center
  • Hospital Association of Southern California
  • The New Albany Community Foundation
  • Texas Southern University
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness - New York State
Rave Reviews About Patrick Kennedy
“
NAMI-NYS had Patrick Kennedy as the keynote speaker at our 2011 Educational Conference. Congressman Kennedy delivered a dynamic and inspiring speech and received several rousing standing ovations. Congressman Kennedy was also extremely gracious with his time. Prior to the speech he spent a half-hour meeting with our affiliate leaders. Following the speech, he remained on the dais for almost an hour talking to attendees, taking pictures, and signing autographs for everyone who wanted one.

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More rave reviews

"Patrick Kennedy is truly an engaging individual, and readily connected with everyone he met. The staff and residents of Rose Hill who met him while he was on campus for the tour felt he was truly sincere in wanting to learn about them and Rose Hill Center. At the evening reception he was very well received and worked the crowd well while engaging in meaningful discussions with many of our constituents. And ultimately, his presentation as keynote speaker at the dinner was intriguing, humorous, and thought-provoking. We were very pleased with Mr. Kennedy’s participation throughout the day."

-Rose Hill Center

"It was great!...We were beyond pleased with the standing ovation that he received and the many people that stood in line for a photo and to have their book signed."

-Hospital Association of Southern California

"Patrick Kennedy was so gracious at each and every turn and our audiences loved him! From the student lecture to the mental health professional meeting to the reception and lecture, he took time with everyone, worked hard to meaningfully connect with them in a short time and the questions in each forum could have gone on for another hour. We are so very happy with his time here and appreciative of his warm and personable demeanor. This has been a home run for The New Albany Community Foundation!"

-The New Albany Community Foundation

"It went perfect! We had a great time, a great audience and a greater speaker. Mr. Kennedy was fantastic. One of the keys of measuring success for me is always the student response while the presentation is ongoing. If our speaker is not engaging the students, then they are apt to leave throughout the speech. Last night, no one left – and there were at least 50 people who did not get in, but stayed so that they could get in after the speech and attend the Q&A afterwards. The whole thing was a resounding success. I had seen Patrick on TV speak before and have followed his career, but I had no idea how engaging, funny, and passionate he is when he speaks."

-Texas Southern University

"Congressman Kennedy made a tremendous impression at our Commencement. It was a very special and meaningful event for the school that truly exceeded expectations! "

- University of Pennsylvania

"The feedback and comments that we have received from the Annual KCMHSAS Breakfast with Patrick Kennedy have been outstanding. He was absolutely so personable and real, and we would highly recommend him. He brought wonderful exposure on the issues to our audience and with regard to stigma busting, he was great. "

- Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
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Patrick J. Kennedy Appearances - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Patrick Kennedy
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Healthcare’s Next Frontier: The Race to Inner Space

More than 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy asked Americans to think big, engage in the world beyond their own backyards, and make public service an integral component of everyday life. Part of the president’s cutting-edge approach to governing was to set audacious, seemingly unreachable goals ...

More than 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy asked Americans to think big, engage in the world beyond their own backyards, and make public service an integral component of everyday life. Part of the president’s cutting-edge approach to governing was to set audacious, seemingly unreachable goals…and exceed them. One of those goals was also the most storied, and most impactful: a call to reach the moon in a decade, catalyzing what is now known as the “space race.”

Today, Patrick J. Kennedy believes we’re are in a new space race, but it’s not about reaching a new planet, or exploring the cosmos. It’s a race of a different kind – a race to “inner-space,” a quest to understand the brain and brain health as much as we sought to understand the surface of the moon.


The stakes are clear – 1 in 4 Americans are touched by mental illness, whether personally or through the experience of a family member. Almost 20 million Americans have a substance abuse issue. More than 8 million people in this country have had a serious suicidal thought.

What binds these statistics together? A need to understand the underlying science of the brain, how it works, how it becomes compromised, and what we can do to achieve brain health. Patrick J. Kennedy will discuss new advances in science and policy that are leading the way toward a deeper understanding of “inner space,” and the role we all play in achieving the goal of making mental healthcare as routine, accessible, and understandable as physical healthcare.

My Journey: Making Mental Health Essential Health

Since his earliest days in public service, Patrick J. Kennedy believed that mental health should be a national priority. After 16 years in Congress, and countless bills passed, one stands out among the rest for the impact it has on the lives of all Americans – the Mental Health Parity and Addiction ...

Since his earliest days in public service, Patrick J. Kennedy believed that mental health should be a national priority. After 16 years in Congress, and countless bills passed, one stands out among the rest for the impact it has on the lives of all Americans – the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. This bill ensures that mental health is treated on-par with physical health, breaking down decades-old practices in the health care system that kept those two areas separate from one another, often with dire consequences.

Patrick J. Kennedy will discuss why mental health is critical to the overall health and wellbeing of all Americans, why the healthcare system needs to adapt to better accommodate mental healthcare, the underlying public policy imperatives of parity, and why we need to invest in innovation.

Kennedy will also discuss his own journey toward mental health and recovery, and how he sees the world today.

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Books by Patrick Kennedy
A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction

A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction

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Press & Media
Treatment or Jail: Patrick Kennedy Wages Fierce Anti-Pot Crusade - NBC News
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Biography

Representative Patrick Kennedy served 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is predominantly known as author and lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.  This dramatic piece of legislation provides tens of millions of Americans who were previously denied care with access to mental health treatment.

Now, Rep. Kennedy is the co-founder of One Mind, a national coalition seeking new treatments and cures for neurologic and psychiatric diseases of the brain afflicting one in every three Americans.  One Mind for Research is dedicated to dramatic enhancements in funding and collaboration in research across all brain disorders in the next decade.  This historic grassroots endeavor unites efforts of scientists, research universities, government agencies, and industry and advocacy organizations not only across the country, but throughout the world.  Rep. Kennedy is bringing everyone together to design the first blueprint of basic neuroscience, to guide efforts in seeking cures for neurological disorders affecting Americans.

Rep. Kennedy is the founder of the Kennedy Forum on Community Mental Health which served as a vehicle to celebrate the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s signing of the Community Mental Health Act, the landmark bill that laid the foundation of contemporary mental health policy and provided Rep. Kennedy with the platform to launch a bold, ongoing effort to advance the work President Kennedy began.  The Kennedy Forum continues to advocate for mental health parity.

Rep. Kennedy has authored and co-sponsored dozens of bills to increase the understanding and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including the National Neurotechnology Initiative Act, the Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act, the COMBAT PTSD Act, and the Alzheimer’s Treatment and Caregiver Support Act.

Rep. Kennedy is a winner of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Distinguished Service Award, the Society for Neuroscience Public Service Award, the Peter C. Alderman Foundation Humanitarian Award, Centennial Award from the Clifford Beers Foundation, the Autism Society of America Congressional Leadership Award, the Depression and BiPolar Support Paul Wellstone Mental Health Award,  the Epilepsy Foundation Public Service Award and has been recognized by many organizations for his mental health advocacy.    In 2014, he is being recognized by the Society of Biological Psychiatry, The Samaritan Institute, and The Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA).

He is also founder of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus and the 21st Century Healthcare Caucus, as well as an honorary advisor to SAM-Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

Rep. Kennedy lives in Brigantine, NJ, with his wife, Amy, and their three children.

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