Dr. Tedla W. Giorgis, has been responsible for overseeing the development and provision of mental health services to the ethnic and linguistic minority communities of the District of Columbia. As head of the Multicultural Services Division (MSD), Department of Mental Health (DMH), Dr. Giorgis successfully enhanced the capacity of the DMH to deliver culturally competent services by equipping the clinical staff to provide services specifically tailored for these communities.

Twenty years ago, when the stigma and lack of awareness regarding mental health was greater than today, Dr. Giorgis gave an important address to DC government policy officials and mental health professionals on the topic of depression in the immigrant and refugee community. In his speech, he stated that occurrence of depression was “like a common cold in the refugee and immigrant communities.” This speech helped mobilize a new level of support for his efforts to provide mental health services for refugee and immigrant communities.

In 1987, Dr. Giorgis was instrumental in establishing the Multicultural Services Division (MSD), DC Department of Mental Health. In the cultures of his targeted client group, there is often a negative stigma attached to anyone experiencing mental illness. Thus, it’s not surprising that they often avoid seeking professional help. Many don’t recognize that their aches and pains, exhaustion and irritability, may be symptoms of depression. The creation of a culturally, ethnically and linguistically community oriented psychiatric center, has allowed thousands of members of the immigrant and refugee communities to receive psychiatric services for various forms of mental illnesses. In addition, the MSD staff has established a network of social workers, physicians, religious workers, and teachers to respond the many different burdens of depressed clients, helping the whole person. As a result MSD was sited as a best practice by the Commission on Mental Health Services.

A recognized national expert, Dr. Giorgis has trained over 350 case managers in 10 US Cities for the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of
Refugee Resettlement. His has also secured grant funding from various Federal agencies and foundations on a wide-range of projects including, producing training materials and videotapes in six different languages, training Ethiopian community mental health workers, and conducting research on the prevalence of depression in Ethiopian communities. His research resulted in an instrument, the Tedla-Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25, used to screen for anxiety and depression in Ethiopians around the world.

When asked about his accomplishments, Dr. Giorgis has been humble and quick to share the praise. “No work that is honorable can be accomplished alone. Therefore, I owe a great debt to many others. There are many individuals and organizations that have given me support, encouragement, and professional advice. My clients and those I trained have also been among my best teachers” said Dr. Giorgis.