Our Vision and Mission

The University of Louisville Depression Center Mission and Vision

Depression is one of the most common and most misunderstood illnesses in the world. It is a real illness with effective treatments which provide relief to the vast majority of those who are afflicted.

Depression is a cause of great distress to those with the illness and for their families. Yet for many, personal shame or embarrassment about their illness causes them to delay or avoid getting help early in their illness, when treatment can be most effective. For others, access to care is not readily available, even when they seek it.

Depression is the leading cause of disability of all diseases, and is ranked by the World Bank as causing the greatest world wide economic burden--more than cancer, heart disease, or diabetes.

Our mission at the UofL Depression Center is to serve as the major regional resource for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder, research, and education.

We are committed to providing ready access to state of the art treatment, for patients from early childhood through the later years of life.

We will provide education to patients and their families, other health care and mental health professionals, the public, and corporate and government decision makers to help overcome the stigma about depression and better ensure support for broader availability and better access to needed treatment.

We will be a leader in research to discover the underlying cause of depression, and will use the knowledge we gain to help develop new and more effective treatments.

As a charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, we will utilize cutting edge knowledge gained from colleagues around the country regarding the causes of depression, effective treatments, and innovative approaches to education. And, we will contribute our own advances to our national colleagues, to ensure the treatment of depression is improved.

We look forward to the day when the burden of suffering is substantially reduced for those with depression and bipolar disorder, when we understand the causes of these illnesses, and when the stigma regarding them is eliminated.

Allan Tasman, MD
Professor and Chairman
UofL Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences