Mental illness —Taking stigma out of media reporting

When a violent crime makes the news, mental illness is often part of the story. But how that story is told, the words chosen, the details included, the connections drawn, has consequences that ripple far beyond the news cycle. For people living with schizophrenia or psychosis, irresponsible reporting isn't just frustrating. It affects how neighbours treat them, how employers see them, and how they see themselves. For the general public, sensationalised coverage quietly builds a picture of mental illness that is distorted, fear-driven and simply not accurate.

Mad, Bad or Misrepresented? Media, Mental Illness and the Stories We Tell was presented on last year's World Mental Health Day by Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA), the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, and the Melbourne School of Global and Population Health.

Speakers

Dr Anna RossSenior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

Tim HeffernanFormer NSW Deputy Mental Health Commissioner; Chair of the advocacy organisation BEING — Mental Health Consumers

Gayle McNaughtManager, StigmaWatch SANE Australia

Dr Chris Groot (host)Senior Lecturer, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences; Co-founder of Mental Ill-Health Stigma Researchers Australia Network (MISRA)

Further information

StigmaWatch

Mindframe and the Mindframe guidelines