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Facts, Myths, Stereotypes: Covering News of Mental Illness and Recovery

JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE NEW YORK, MAY 5, 2015 Risdon N. Slate, Ph.D.

Chair and Professor of Criminology Florida Southern College

The U.S. Surgeon General

• has previously stated that the number one inhibitor to persons with mental illnesses seeking help is stigma.

Contributors to Stigma

• Wahl, reporting on 17 years of research monitoring television content, found that 72% of all mentally ill characters in prime-time dramas were depicted as violent, with 21% of these characters portrayed as murderers. • Wahl also analyzed daytime soap operas and concluded that the majority of mentally ill characters within this medium were depicted as criminal and violent. • According to Granello and Pauley, persons who engage in moderate to heavy viewing of television tend to be less open-minded and are more likely to have negative beliefs and less tolerance for PWMI.

• Dietrich, Heider, Matschinger, and Angermeyer found that the majority of newspaper articles on mental illness selectively and almost exclusively focus on violence and dangerousness. Contrary to Caputo and Rouner’s later findings, according to Wahl, in a 2003 survey it was determined that the primary source of information for the majority of respondents about persons with mental illnesses was newspapers. Copyright © 2013 Carolina Academic Press

Kim Webdale

• the more she and her family delved into her sister Kendra’s tragic death, the more Kim found her sister to have been the “unsuspecting victim of a sick man and an equally sick system.” (pp. 489-490)

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Michael Winerip concluded it wasn’t anyone’s job to link Andrew Goldstein to treatment and prevent him from pushing Kendra Webdale onto the subway tracks. Managed care forced Goldstein out of treatment (p. 166) “That’s news to us” regarding Cho at Virginia Tech (see p. 490)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

• Actual state hospital patients were reportedly considered for parts in this movie, but the producers declined to use them because the actual patients did not look bizarre enough to play such a role on the big screen.

STORY

• Most Persons With Mental illnesses Are Not Violent (Best predictors of violence are past violence, substance abuse, lack of treatment, and/or non-compliance with treatment.

• Recovery Is Possible • What we need is adequate services and someone to link individuals to those services.

• The question is: “Whose job is it?”

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Crisis in Mandarin Chinese:

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Anosognosia

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Stigma

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Mistakes by Clinicians

CONCLUSION

• There is no shame in having a mental illness. The shame is in not receiving adequate treatment, and any entity that obfuscates that treatment should be considered criminal. A person should not have to commit a crime to have a chance at some semblance of treatment in America.

These are some links you may find of interest to you in your reporting. Don’t hesitate to let me know if I can be of assistance.

Best, Risdon N. Slate, Ph.D.

Chair and Professor of Criminology Florida Southern College 111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr.

Lakeland, FL 33801 863-680-4339 (work) 863-602-5901 (cell) [email protected]

News media reporting has gotten better. The Associated Press, for example, has adopted “mental illness” guidelines in their StyleBook (industry Bible). The problem is a lot of editors and reporters aren’t aware of them.

http://www2.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Top_Story&temp late=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay.cfm&ContentID=1517 57&title=Entry%20on%20Mental%20Illness%20Added%20to %20AP%20Stylebook See also: https://www.apstylebook.com/

For 10 years SAMHSA has been giving Voice Awards for those who "get it right": http://www.samhsa.gov/voice-awards/award winners Stigma Often Permeates the Media & Messaging via Commercials One recent horrible example: Modern Family's "Halloween episode." http://abc.go.com/shows/modern-family/episode-guide/season 06/606-halloween-3-awesomeland BMW ad http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/bmw-ad-crazy-woman-has angered-mental-health-advocates-163815 Rob Lowe ads: http://thestir.cafemom.com/celebrities/179225/rob_lowe_directtv_shy _bladder>:.

; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXBEODlyI0w

TIPS FROM THE NAMI PR MARKETING TOOLKIT http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NAMI_Center_f or_Excellence/Tools_for_Excellence/PRTK2012.pdf

> (pages 34-36) www.nami.org/.../Tools_for_Excellence/PRTK2012.pdf

* illness.

NAMI shares the nation's [community's] sadness over the tragedy at________. NAMI is an organization of individuals and families whose lives have been deeply affected by mental * We extend our sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives or were wounded. We also share the pain experienced by the family of the person responsible * [Optional based on situation] At this time, there is no indication that mental illness was a factor in the tragedy. Our policy is not to attempt to speculate about diagnoses through the news media. Facts will emerge slowly.

* Please keep in mind that the likelihood of violence from people with mental illness is low. The risk increases slightly if substance abuse or untreated psychosis is also a factor. Acts of violence are exceptional. Tragedies often are a sign that something has gone terribly wrong in the mental healthcare system.

answers to keyl questions about what may have gone wrong. They include: o What was the full medical history?

o Was there an actual diagnosis?

o Substance abuse?

o Was treatment coordinated among different professionals?

o What professionals saw the person? When? How often?

o Did the person or family seek treatment, but have it delayed or denied?

o Had the person been hospitalized and recently discharged? What was the discharge plan?

o Was the person prescribed medication? If so, was it being taken? If not, why not?

o What events may have triggered the psychiatric crisis?

o Did family members receive education and support?

• • • • • • Links to Potential Sources of Information The Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project with the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments (CSG) (see http://consensusproject.org/ ). Also, the CSG Justice Center has launched a new website at (csgjusticecenter.org)... Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (see http://www.samhsa.gov/ ) SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation (see http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/ ) http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/topical_resources/jail.asp

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (see http://www.bazelon.org/ ) Treatment Advocacy Center (see http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/ ) The Vera Institute of Justice, with support from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, (see http://www.jhconnect.org/ )

Bob Carolla, J.D., Director of Media Relations, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 3803 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203, Telephone 703-516-7963, [email protected]

Risdon N. Slate http://www.cap press.com/books/isbn/9781611630398/The-Criminalization-of Mental-Illness-Second-Edition Health Coverage for People in the Justice System: The Potential Impact of Obamacare http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/FederalCourts/PPS/Fedprob/2 014-09/health-coverage.html

Otto Wahl, Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness, http://www.amazon.com/Media-Madness-Public-Images Illness/dp/0813522137