RESPONSIBLE REPORTING CAN INCREASE
UNDERSTANDING OF MENTAL ILLNESS
Mass shootings, murder-suicide deaths, and violence appear in newspaper headlines across the country almost daily. When stories of these tragedies involve individuals with mental illnesses, the manner in which these topics are addressed by the media often affects the way we perceive these people and prevents a clear understanding of how such tragedies can be prevented.
Washington State recently took on this issue and came up with a guide and website for reporters covering stories involving people with mental illness. The effort grew out of a study of 856 news stories over a ten-year period showing frequent use of derogatory terms and negative stereotypes to describe people with a mental illness.
"We'd like news organizations and the entertainment industry to understand the important role they play in shaping public opinions about people living with mental illness," says Jennifer Stuber, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work who conducted the study. She focuses her research on the social detriments of health and mental health, and proposed strategies to address the root causes of stigma and prejudice.
According to Stuber, inaccurate portrayals of mental illness in the news influence public attitudes and lead to negative consequences for people with mental illness, including discrimination in employment or in finding a home.
According to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, "The duty of the journalist is to provide a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues."
Journalists recognize the power of words and images used to define and characterize a subject. Reporting practices have encouraged reporters and editors to avoid stereotypical language and ensure careful use of images when referring to ethnic and racial minorities and people with disabilities. Unfortunately, there are no widely used guidelines for journalists when reporting includes a person with mental illness. The purpose of the website, http://www.depts.washington.edu/mhreport/, is to provide tools and information for news organizations and journalists for improving reporting on mental health issues.
"Stereotypes abound, fed by the psychotic killers of Hollywood imagination as well as the real suspects who turn up in news accounts of tragic crimes," wrote Carol Smith in an article for the Washington Post Intelligencer. She noted that the Puget Sound area had an unusual number of high-profile killings in 2008 involving suspects with severe, untreated mental illness.
Her reporting never sugar coated the facts or gave a negative image of someone because he or she has a mental illness. She would get to the facts which more often than not, pointed to the lack of treatment for a mental illness as the cause of the tragedy.
"Such images don't reflect the experience of the majority of people with mental illness, many of whom have crafted stable, productive lives, and the majority of whom are neither violent nor dangerous. But they keep people in the community from supporting recovery efforts, and they prevent many of those who need help from seeking it," Smith wrote in the same article.
In order to avoid future tragedies, it is important to spread the word that a lack of treatment for mental illness is a key factor in helping to drive policy discussions to improve treatment laws so that future tragedies can be prevented. You can help spread this important news to others by telling friends and family members that people with severe mental illness need timely and effective treatment and that treatment works and people do recover.
For more information, call the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board at 330-424-0195, and check out the Treatment Advocacy Center's website: