Mariska Hargitay Honored at 18th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar

Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF), the leading non-profit dedicated solely to advanced depression research, held its 18th annual HOPE luncheon seminar on Tuesday, November 12 at The Plaza Hotel. The event focused on “Trauma and Recovery: How the Brain Heals” with top medical experts and beloved actor/producer Mariska Hargitay, who was honored for her work in the trauma field.

“All of us have experienced degrees of trauma,” said HDRF Founder & Chair Audrey Gruss at the event, which drew 350 guests and raised $650,000 for life-saving mental health research.  “Everyone of us has experienced heartbreak, felt betrayed, neglected, wounded or abused in some way.  That’s why today’s topic is meaningful and poignant.”

At the event, Audrey Gruss presented Mariska Hargitay with the 2024 HOPE Award for Depression Advocacy.  

Gruss said: “On TV, Mariska Hargitay plays a relentless, hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners crusader for justice:  Detective Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.   But Mariska Hargitay is also a hero off the screen. She founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004, whose mission is to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever.”

Mariska Hargitay delivered an acceptance speech filled with gratitude, humor and humility.

“The Joyful Heart Foundation is my response to reading all the letters that I received from survivors.”

She continued:  “On a personal note, I’ve also gone through my own journey of learning how to respond to the various traumas that I experienced in my life. I lost my mother when I was three years old, and I grew up in a house with people dealing with a tragedy in their own way. And because there was so much grief, there wasn’t room to prioritize anyone. We didn’t have the tools that we have now to metabolize and understand trauma, understand all the levels, understand that it goes in on the cellular level. So it wasn’t until much later in my life when I was able to do that for myself.”

“I had a good fortune to find extraordinary therapists who … helped give me my life back and reorganized my nervous system, and they gave me back a whole lot of space, which is, I’ve learned, synonymous with healing.”

Mariska concluded her remarks with, “There is hope. There is hope. And with that message, I say, thank you for having me today.”

Every year at the Luncheon Seminar, HDRF brings a psychiatrist and a neuroscientist to speak on the given topic.  This year was no exception.  The clink of forks during the lunch fell silent when psychiatrist Dr. Pamela Cantor gave her keynote presentation.  Cantor is the CEO of The Human Potential L.A.B., which develops programs for schools and other institutions to teach them the science of stress and its impact on the brain.

Cantor shared candidly how she was abused sexually and then silenced as a child, leading her ultimately to become a psychiatrist.  In medical school she learned about the interplay between nature and nurture and how the brain is changed by experience. Two key hormones in our bodies and brains drive emotions, she said: cortisol, the stress hormone, and oxytocin, the love or trust hormone. Oxytocin can protect our cells from the effects of cortisol and help reverse the emotional damage of a traumatic event.

Cantor asserted that pro-resilient qualities such as doggedness, tenacity, perseverance, and recovery from failure can be developed, just as a muscle is, through active and consistent training.

“Healing is a dynamic process and it needs to be intentional” she stressed.  “Often it needs to be guided by someone else, a doctor, a physical therapist, a coach.”

The next guest featured in the program was Dr. René Hen Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at Columbia University, the Director of the Division of Integrative Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), and a member of HDRF’s Depression Task Force.

Dr. Hen discussed the areas of the brain that underlie conditions like PTSD.  He explained that deeply distressing experiences can often disrupt normal memory processing and cause individuals to be haunted by past distressing events.  His lab is now starting a pilot clinical trial to test a new medication that can help the brain heal the disrupted memory circuits.

HDRF Founder and Chair Audrey Gruss added: “When I formed HDRF, my vision was to create a think tank to defeat depression, where some of the greatest neuroscientists on the planet could collaborate in a way that breaks the traditional mold of academic research.  The field was stuck, so we hoped that by working together, we would provide real results faster.”

HDRF Executive Director Louisa Benton then took the podium to discuss HDRF’s community outreach and education efforts. She highlighted HDRF’s Race of Hope 5K in Palm Beach and Southampton, as well as the Teen Race of Hope in NYC in May.

James Remez, Founder of Livingston Builders, Inc. accepted the 2024 Hope Corporate Visionary Award.  In his remarks he commended Audrey Gruss for her leadership, and HDRF for being such a prominent force in mental health research. He said that Livingston Builders is committed to “raising funds to support the remarkable work of HDRF distinguished team of neuroscientists, doctors, and professionals from the most prestigious institutions.”

Hank Siegel, CEO of Hamilton Jewelers accepted the 2024 Hope Community Ambassador Award. He received the Award for his initiative to design and create “Charms of Hope,” a line of fine jewelry, in collaboration with the Hope for Depression Research Foundation.  All sales of “Charms of Hope” benefit HDRF.

He said: “Like so many of us, I’ve witnessed, throughout my career, the debilitating effect of depression and related mood disorders and how it touches all of us with personal struggles, with friends and loved ones, but also as an employer.”

This year’s Event Co-Chairs include Marchesa Barel di Sant’ Albano, Maru M. Hagerty, Kim M. Heirston, Tania Higgins, Eleanora Kennedy, Kristen Maltese Krusen, Margo Langenberg, Kitty and Bill McKnight, Peter S. Paine III, Barbara and Randall Smith and Scott Snyder.

HDRF also acknowledges our generous sponsors!