Pillars of Mental Health: Attachment and Social Connectedness over the Lifespan-View Presentation

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The video features a ceremony honoring Dr. Marilyn Benoit, recipient of the Abraham L. Halpern Humanitarian Award. Dr. Eugenia Roth, the event's host, introduces Dr. Benoit, highlighting her impressive background. She was born in Trinidad and Tobago and moved to the U.S., graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University and earning her medical degree at Georgetown University. Dr. Benoit is an associate professor at both Georgetown and Drexel University Medical Schools and has previously served as Chief Medical Officer at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health.<br /><br />Dr. Benoit has significantly contributed to child and adolescent psychiatry, spearheading initiatives with major child-serving organizations. She founded the Suicide Prevention Initiative at Gallaudet University and engages in psychiatric consultation with residential treatment centers to prevent child maltreatment.<br /><br />Her career has been marked by numerous awards, including several from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The organization even endowed the Marilyn B. Benoit Child Maltreatment Award in her honor.<br /><br />The ceremony also includes Dr. John Halpern, who reflects on the impact of guiding children, emphasizing that the efforts to save and elevate their lives have a compounded and lasting effect.<br /><br />Dr. Benoit's lecture underscores the critical importance of early attachment and its role in mental health. She discusses the consequences of trauma and social determinants of health, urging a return to socially-focused psychiatric care. The talk concludes with a Q&A session, focusing on topics such as obesity and intergenerational trauma, and closes with an acknowledgment of the depth and warmth Dr. Benoit brings to her humanitarian efforts.

Keywords

Dr. Marilyn Benoit

Abraham L. Halpern Humanitarian Award

child and adolescent psychiatry

Suicide Prevention Initiative

Gallaudet University

child maltreatment

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

early attachment

trauma

social determinants of health

psychiatric care

intergenerational trauma