A Month Away - The World Marathon Challenge

With the beginning of a new year, many people will resolve to get healthier and exercise more. One person who's off to a great start is Jonathan Terrell, who will participate in the World Marathon Challenge in late January to raise money for mental health programs at Children's National. Starting in Antarctica, he and other elite athletes will run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. Terrell recently discussed his efforts on Fox 5 Morning News with Dr. Adelaide Robb, chief of psychiatry and behavioral science at Children's National. "It's a little crazy," he said, "but if it weren't crazy, I wouldn't get the attention for the cause I'm passionate about, which is pediatric mental health." 

"One of the best things we have in Washington, DC, is Children's National hospital -- it's one of the best in the country -- and I want to raise awareness of the hospital and in particular pediatric mental health." He said it's a "scandal and tragedy" that one in five children have a mental health condition, but only 20 percent receive treatment.

Asked why more people don't talk more about pediatric mental health, Dr. Robb explained that there's a stigma attached to mental health that physical illnesses and conditions don't have. She cited high rates of depression and suicide attempts in the Washington area and the importance of diagnosing and treating these conditions. "I think when you treat a mental illness in a teenager, you can turn their lives around and get them back to their friends and their family," she said.

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