Intellectual Benefits to Society Award Winner Honored by Mensa Foundation

ARLINGTON, TEXAS, July 24th, 2015 — The developer of a program to help improve treatment methods for those who live with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression has won the 2015 Intellectual Benefits to Society Award given by the Mensa Education and Research Foundation.

Its creator, Dr. Joe Bates of Tyler, Texas, received the award from Foundation President Dave Remine at the 2015 American Mensa Annual Gathering in Louisville.

Dr. Bates’s cognitive remediation training program for severe mental illness has resulted in a 64% improvement in executive function for these patients, as well as improved socialization and self-image.

With a fifty-year career in psychiatry, child psychiatry and pediatric medicine, Dr. Bates joined Mensa two years ago at age 72. “It is an honor to be affiliated with an organization that promotes knowledge, creativity, individualism and life-long learning on such a grand level,” he said.

“The Mensa Foundation works hard to select innovative thinkers who are having a positive impact on their communities,” said Foundation President Remine. “We are so pleased to be able to present this award to Dr. Bates.”

The Intellectual Benefits to Society Award recognizes the application of Mensans' intellectual abilities that result in tangible benefits to society. They may include innovative activities that impact education programs for employees, clients or business associates; programs designed to educate the public, or intellectual research and development. To find out more about the Mensa Foundation, visit mensafoundation.org.

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The Mensa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on intelligence and giftedness in the community at large. It's mission supports two of the three stated purposes shared by all Mensa organizations, to identify and foster intelligence for the benefit of humanity and to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence. The Mensa Foundation pursues these goals, in partnership with American Mensa and/or Mensa International where appropriate, with resources donated by Mensans and non-Mensans alike and aspire to use the intelligence of Mensans and non-Mensans to make the world a better place. For more information about the Mensa Foundation, visit mensafoundation.org or call (817) 607-5577.