Mental Health News You Can Use...
April 2010
Issue 27
This update is from the SAMHSA ADS Center (Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health). SAMHSA ADS Center is a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services, Office of Consumer Affairs. The ADS Center helps to promote acceptance and social inclusion for people with mental health problems and helps to counter the negative beliefs, harmful attitudes, and discrimination experienced by those with mental health problems. We encourage you to share this information with others and to post it in your own newsletters or e-mail lists. For more information, please visit the SAMHSA ADS Center Web site: http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov.
In this issue...
A Letter from the SAMHSA ADS Center
Spotlight: Organizations Involved in Promoting Accurate and Dignified Media Coverage
Announcements: New Campaigns, Awards, and Upcoming Conferences
Online Resources
Information and Research
SAMHSA ADS Center Steering Committee
In My Experience: Susan Rogers
A Letter from the SAMHSA ADS Center
Every day, millions of people are influenced by what they see, read, and hear. "The media" in all its forms is a powerful source of influence, capable of altering and solidifying the public's perceptions of society, events, and people. The media has the ability to educate and inform us about real people, real life encounters, real challenges, and how people have overcome great odds to heal or achieve goals that seemed unreachable. However, the influence that allows the media to spread positive messages also allows it to perpetuate misperceptions and prejudice.
To explore the media's influences on public perceptions of mental health problems and potential ways of increasing inclusive media coverage, the SAMHSA ADS Center sponsored a training teleconference entitled The Power of the Media and Its Impact on Mental Health Recovery. The teleconference, held on March 26, 2010, focused on helping participants better understand the effects, both positive and negative, that the media has on perceptions of people with mental health problems. Presentations included an overview of portrayals of people with mental health problems in the news and entertainment media; an example of an innovative program that encourages journalists to use non-pejorative language and transform media coverage of mental health issues; and strategies to help participants engage local, State, and national news and entertainment media to positively influence depictions of people with mental health problems.
The SAMHSA ADS Center staff would like to thank our three outstanding presenters, Bob Carolla of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Dr. Jennifer Stuber of the University of Washington School of Social Work, and Dr. Otto Wahl of the University of Hartford, for their informative and insightful presentations and for the groundbreaking work each is doing to promote positive media coverage of people with mental health problems. We would also like to thank participants and presenters for the thought-provoking question-and-answer session that followed the presentations.
If you were unable to participate in the teleconference or would like to listen to it again, you may access it by visiting the following Web address:
http://promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/teleconferences/ archive/training/teleconference03262010.aspx.
How You Can Make a Difference
We encourage you to share personal recovery stories and information about successful campaigns and programs through two sections on SAMHSA ADS Center's Web site:
These Web pages include links through which you may contact us to share your story or provide information about your program. Through these avenues, you can make a difference in how the public views people with mental health problems.
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Spotlight: Organizations Involved in Promoting Accurate and Dignified Media Coverage
Below, we provide information about a number of programs that promote accurate media portrayals of people with mental health problems or are otherwise involved in educating the public about mental health problems.
Please note: The descriptions below are pulled from or based upon the language provided on the organizations’ Web sites.
The Carter Center Mental Health Program aims to combat the negative impacts of mental health problems to promote appropriate mental health services and interventions and increase social inclusion of people with mental health problems. Former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter formed The Carter Center in 1982, and the Mental Health Program was added in 1991. The Program hosts public policy forums, symposia, and public outreach forums to engage people in the mental health field, as well as the public, in discussions about mental health. Recognizing the powerful influence of the media in presenting mental health problems to the general public, the Center offers fellowships for journalists to increase accurate reporting on mental health issues, help journalists produce high-quality work that reflects an understanding of mental health issues through exposure to well-established resources in the field, and develop a cadre of better-informed print and electronic journalists. The Center is currently accepting fellowship applications (due April 19, 2010). To learn more about the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism or The Carter Center Mental Heath Program, visit http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/index.html  or call 404–420–5100 (local) or 800–550–3560 (toll-free).
NAMI StigmaBusters is a program of NAMI that monitors and protests negative representations of people with mental health problems in print, broadcast, advertising, and entertainment media. NAMI StigmaBusters encourages people to become mental health advocates by reporting hurtful and damaging messages and also sends e-mail alerts about such messages. E-mail alerts include contact information for the media outlet or organization responsible for the message so that the public may voice opposition to these messages. To learn more about NAMI StigmaBusters, please visit http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=fight_stigma or call 1–800–950–6264.
National Stigma Clearinghouse tracks negative stereotypes of mental health problems and provides information about fighting prejudice. Volunteers formed the organization in 1990 with a goal to ensure that people labeled “mentally ill” are able to lead meaningful lives in their communities. The Clearinghouse maintains a file of clippings and articles on prejudice and related topics and furnishes this information, on request, to psychiatric survivors, mental health organizations, the media, educators, students, lawyers, researchers, families, and professionals in the mental health field. The project's Web site, the Anti-Stigma Home Page, offers news and links to battle bias, as well as an archive of postings since 1999. To learn more about the National Stigma Clearinghouse, please visit http://www.stigmanet.org .
The Center for Mental Health and Media is a division of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry. Its mission is to change the public's outdated and inaccurate perceptions of the nature, causes, and treatment of mental health problems. To accomplish this mission, the Center designs and produces media-based behavior change programs for a variety of audiences; provides consultation about mental health to media producers and journalists; educates the public and policymakers about mental health and media issues; teaches academics and health professionals how to work more effectively with media professionals; and conducts research on the media’s effects. To learn more about The Center for Mental Health and Media, please visit the Center’s Web site: http://www.mentalhealthandmedia.org/ about/index.html or call 617–726–8471.
Community Network Services (CNS) Anti-Stigma Program is a nationally recognized, consumer-run program that focuses on providing mental health education and support to communities throughout Michigan. The program’s goal is to decrease negative public attitudes by combining factual information about mental health issues with powerful, personal stories of recovery. The program’s education and awareness activities include consumer presentations, a documentary film, print literature, a weekly cable access television show, and community forum sponsorship. To learn more about the CNS Anti-Stigma Program, visit http://www.cnsantistigmaprogram.org or call 248–409–4211.
National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health (NRCHMH) aims to address the nationwide lack of quality mental health services for Hispanic people. Its programs disseminate information and provide research and training to raise awareness, acceptance, and understanding of mental health problems among Hispanic populations. The organization sponsors activities to increase the knowledge of mental health agency administrators and direct care service providers in meeting the needs of Hispanic people in mental health programs. Additionally, the NRCHMH produces and coordinates the dissemination of print, television, and radio public education campaigns in English and Spanish, as well as partners with diverse media outlets to educate the Hispanic population about an array of mental health topics. The organization also serves as a resource on Hispanic mental health issues for varied stakeholders, including media representatives. To learn more about the NRCHMH, please visit http://nrchmh.org/resources.html or call Henry Acosta, Executive Director, at 609–838–5488, ext. 205.
Washington State Mental Health Transformation Project was created when a SAMHSA Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant was awarded to the State of Washington in 2005. The project facilitates partnerships and collaboration among various stakeholders across the State in order to effect change in the delivery of mental health services. The project has partnered with the University of Washington’s School of Social Work to create the Washington State Coalition to Improve Mental Health Reporting—a coalition focused on engaging news media and improving the accuracy and language of news stories on mental health. For more information about the Mental Health Transformation Project, please visit http://mhtransformation.wa.gov or call 360–902–8456. To learn more about the Washington State Coalition to Improve Mental Health Reporting, visit http://www. mentalhealthreporting.org or e-mail Dr. Jennifer Stuber at mhreport@u.washington.edu.
Announcements: New Campaigns, Awards, and Upcoming Conferences
SAMHSA and the Ad Council Launch Mental Health Campaign for African-American Community
SAMHSA, in partnership with the Ad Council, first launched the Campaign for Mental Health Recovery (CMHR) in 2006 to reach friends of those dealing with mental health problems. On February 23, 2010, SAMHSA and the Ad Council launched the next phase of the CMHR—a series of public service announcements (PSAs) that extends the campaign’s message to reach the African-American community.
This new phase of the campaign complements the general market materials by promoting acceptance of and support for those who are living with mental health problems. For this new phase of the CMHR, SAMHSA and the AD Council have tailored the CMHR message to address mental health problems within the African-American community—a community in which these problems are often viewed as personal weaknesses rather than treatable health problems.
The PSAs feature personal stories of individuals who have dealt with mental health problems and experienced the positive effects of sharing their stories with friends and loved ones. Sharing their experiences and starting conversations within their communities began these individuals’ paths to recovery. Each PSA directs viewers to the Campaign landing page at http://www.storiesthatheal.samhsa.gov/, where they can view video testimonials from several African-American men and women.
The PSAs were unveiled at a press event at Howard University as part of the broader Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) National Mental Health Awareness Day hosted by Morehouse University. Speakers at the event included Paolo del Vecchio of SAMHSA; Terrie Williams of the Stay Strong Foundation; Priscilla Natkins of the Ad Council; and Joseph Lankford, a student at Howard University. Lydia Caesar, a rising R&B singer who appears in the PSAs and Web videos, followed the speakers with a vocal performance. To access the press release from the launch and the PSAs, please visit the campaign landing page at http://www.storiesthatheal.samhsa.gov/. A Webcast of the HBCU National Mental Health Awareness Day event is available at http://www.hbcucfe.net .
SAMHSA and the Ad Council are currently working on PSAs targeted to Hispanic, Chinese American, and Native American audiences, as well as a second round of general market PSAs. Please check the In the News section of the SAMHSA ADS Center Web site http://www.promoteacceptance. samhsa.gov/main/inthenews.aspx periodically for announcements of these additional PSA launches.
Application Period Opens for 2010 CMHR Awards
Each year, SAMHSA sponsors the CMHR State Awards, which fund selected consumer-run organizations across the United States to promote the CMHR on the State and local levels. These awards provide support for community-based efforts to promote recovery and to counter negative perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs associated with mental health problems.
This year, SAMHSA will award six $20,000 grants for statewide and community-based efforts that promote and expand the What a Difference a Friend Makes campaign. One of the emphases of this year’s awards is reaching multicultural audiences. Information about the next phase of the CMHR—a series of public service announcements that extends the campaign’s message to reach the African-American community is now available at http://storiesthatheal. samhsa.gov. Additional multicultural phases will be launched throughout the year.
The application period for the 2010 CMHR Awards for Statewide Consumer/Survivor-Operated Projects opened April 1, 2010, and the deadline for submitting applications is June 7, 2010.
The comprehensive Project Guide, which fully describes the project focus, eligibility requirements, application requirements, and other important information, is available at http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/ CMHR/awards/2010awards.aspx.
2010 VOICE Awards Accepting Nominations
The VOICE Awards honor television and film writers and producers who incorporate dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of people with mental health problems into their scripts, programs, and productions. These awards also recognize the accomplishments of consumer leaders and advocates who have been instrumental both in raising awareness and understanding of mental health issues and in promoting the social inclusion of people with mental health problems. Anyone may nominate a television show, movie, or individual to receive a VOICE Award. To read more about eligibility criteria or to submit a nomination, please visit http://www.whatadifference.samhsa.gov/ voiceawards/nominate.html. Please note: All entertainment nominations are due by April 30, 2010, and all consumer nominations are due by May 14, 2010.
Adler Institute on Social Exclusion to Hold 2010 Annual Conference
The Adler Institute on Social Exclusion will hold its 2010 Annual Conference June 3–4, 2010, in Chicago, IL. Keynote speaker and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher and other innovative thinkers from diverse disciplinary and professional backgrounds will address the conference topic, Social Determinants of Mental Health: From Awareness to Action. The purpose of the gathering will be to increase awareness and understanding of the impact of social conditions on mental health and well-being. To access more information or register for this conference, please visit http://www.adler.edu/about/ 2010annualconference.asp or e-mail ise@adler.edu.
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Online Resources
EMCI Think Tank: Mental Healthcare Media Blueprint
Developed by the Entertainment and Media Communication Institute, this document details the recommendations from a 2008 roundtable discussion that brought together leaders from entertainment, media, and mental health to discuss potential strategies to change the national dialogue regarding mental health problems. This document is available at http://eiconline.org/ z_images/THINK_TANKfor_web.pdf [PDF format - 856 Kb] .
Guide for Reporting on Mental Health
The University of Washington and Harris & Smith Public Affairs developed this guide with funding from a SAMHSA Mental Health Transformation Incentive Grant. The guide offers journalists practical tips for reporting on mental health problems, background information about the relationship between mental health problems and violence, and summaries of the best current studies regarding recovery and prevention. The purpose of this guide is to improve reporting on mental health. To access this guide, please visit http://depts. washington.edu/mhreport/docs/GuideforReportingMentalHealth.pdf [PDF format - 1.81 Mb] .
How to Use the Media to Fight Discrimination and Stigma
This toolkit, developed by the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse, helps individuals counteract negative attitudes by working with the media and becoming involved in various social inclusion initiatives. This toolkit is available at http://www.mhselfhelp.org/techasst/view.php?techasst_id=20 .
Organizing and Operating a Speakers’ Bureau
This guide, developed by the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse, provides consumers with practical information and guidelines to assist them in establishing and operating a speakers’ bureau. This guide is available at http://www.mhselfhelp.org/gateway.php?type=techasstfile&techasstfile_id=24 .
One in Five: Overcoming the Stigma of Mental Illness
The Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority (Michigan) produced this educational documentary and created an accompanying workbook and resource guide (funded, in part, by SAMHSA). The documentary features mental health consumers and informs the general public about the lives of people with mental health problems, as well as the misconceptions and myths associated with mental health problems. The accompanying workbook and resource guide assist users in leading discussions and finding additional resources and information about mental health. To access these materials, visit http://www.sccmha.org/Anti-Stigma .
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Information and Research
Bell, C.C. (2010). Determinants of minority mental health and wellness (Book Review). JAMA, 303(6), 564–565.
Byrne, P. (2007). Mental health issues in the media: An introduction for health professionals . The British Journal of Psychiatry, 191(3), 272–273. doi:10.1192/bjp.191.3.272a
Campbell, N.N., Heath, J., Bouknight, J., Rudd, K., & Pender, J. (2009). Speaking out for mental health: Collaboration of future journalists and psychiatrists . Academic Psychiatry 33, 166–168. doi:10.1176/appi.ap.33.2.166
Corrigan, P.W., Morris, S., Larson, J., Rafacz, J., Wassel A., Michaels, P., et al. (2010). Self-stigma and coming out about one’s mental illness . Journal of Community Psychology, 38(3), 259–275. doi:10.1002/jcop.20363
Henson, C., Chapman, S., McLeod, L., Johnson, N., McGeechan, K., & Hickie, I. (2009). More us than them: Positive depictions of mental illness on Australian television news . Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(6), 554–560. doi:10.1080/00048670902873623
Knifton, L. & Quinn, N. (2008). Media, mental health and discrimination: A frame of reference for understanding reporting trends . The International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 10(1), 23–31.
Sterling, E.W., von Esenwein, S.A., Tucker, S., Fricks, L., & Druss, B.G. (2009). Integrating wellness, recovery, and self-management for mental health consumers. Community Mental Health Journal [Epub ahead of print].
Wahl, O. & Aroesty-Cohen, E. (2010). Attitudes of mental health professionals about mental illness: A review of the literature . Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 49–62. doi:10.1002/jcop.20351
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SAMHSA ADS Center Steering Committee
The 10-member SAMHSA ADS Center Steering Committee, composed of leaders from various perspectives in the mental health field, serves as an important advisory committee, helping guide the project’s focus, activities, and programs. Steering Committee members are a valuable resource to assist in expanding the Center’s outreach efforts, resource database, visibility, and ability to respond appropriately to the diverse needs of community members. Their participation in the Steering Committee also offers many opportunities to inform and strengthen each other’s work in the field.
The SAMHSA ADS Center plans to develop a page on its Web site to feature Steering Committee members’ bios and photos. In addition, we plan to feature a rotating column on the Web site home page with articles written by Steering Committee members.
Steering Committee members are the following:
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Patrick Corrigan, Psy.D.
Associate Dean of Psychology Research and Distinguished Professor
Illinois Institute of Psychology
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Joyce Jorgenson
Advocate for Social Inclusion
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Ann Kirkwood, M.A.
Research Associate
Institute of Rural Health
Idaho State University
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Lolita O’Donnell, Ph.D., RN
Acting Director
Clearinghouse, Outreach & Advocacy Directorate
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury
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Rebecca Palpant, M.S.
Senior Program Associate
The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
The Carter Center
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Heather Peck
CO-OP Director
VOCAL CO-OP Program
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Priscilla Ridgeway, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Program for Recovery and Community Health
Department of Psychiatry
Yale University School of Medicine
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Dally Sanchez
Psychiatric Survivor, Human Rights Activist, and Advocate
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Lynn C. Todman, Ph.D.
Director
Adler Institute on Social Exclusion
Adler School of Professional Psychology
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Can Truong
Consultant, Can Consulting Group
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In My Experience: Susan Rogers
We need to tell our stories of recovery
By Susan Rogers
When I was first hospitalized for disabling depression in the mid-1970s, my life seemed broken, and hearing the key turn in the lock while I was on the wrong side of the door filled me with despair. But the camaraderie with my three hospital roommates felt healing—as if they were binding my wounds. Leaving the hospital, I felt the glimmerings of hope. (It helped that I was on New York City's Upper West Side, where a sojourn on a psych ward was no big deal, and every other person you met seemed to at least be in therapy.)
Flash forward to the mid-1980s, when I and my then husband Joseph Rogers, a movement organizer, moved to Philadelphia, where he encouraged me to get involved. I was reminded of Rhett Butler's riposte to Scarlett O'Hara: "With enough courage, you can do without a reputation." So I began to tell my story to anyone who wanted to hear it.
One eager listener was Sally Jessy Raphael, who had a syndicated talk show. I felt comfortable sharing details of my "lurid" past with a national audience—only hoping that my mother wasn't watching! My "story" was the price of admission, and I paid it happily in order to use the airwaves to talk about the vital role that self-help and mutual support play in recovery.
It was clear that the movement needed to harness the power of the press to tell our side of the story: that individuals with psychiatric histories can and do recover. The more we are willing to tell our stories of recovery, the more effectively we destroy the myths of violence and chronic illness that feed prejudice and discrimination. So, during the last 25 years, I have worked toward that goal.
Although I have seen great progress in mental health reporting during that time, there is still much room for improvement. One reason for this is that very few news organizations can afford the luxury of reporters who specialize in the mental health beat. The editor of The Quill, published by the Society of Professional Journalists, once explained to me that because journalists tend to be generalists, reporters "may be thrown into a story they've never had before . . . and 30 minutes of your preparation time may be taken up with the driving time to get there."
As recently as 2008, when I used a wire service to distribute a press release about a rally to increase State funding for supported housing, I was stunned to learn from a reporter that the press release had been slugged "loony bin rally." I immediately called the wire service, which quickly discovered that the offensive "slug" (a short phrase indicating the content of a release) was the work of a feckless employee who had expected her "joke" to be caught before the release hit the wire. (It wasn't.) The wire service made amends, and we garnered a lot more publicity for the rally than we otherwise would have because the story of the stigmatizing slug was picked up in the Philadelphia dailies, as well as on hundreds of Web sites, including the media gossip site Gawker. But it drove the point home that our work isn't done, and we need to continue to educate the media and the public until the prejudice and discrimination associated with psychiatric histories no longer exist.
Susan Rogers (srogers@mhasp.org) is Director of the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services.
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