Stigma Watch
As a society, we are bombarded with negative images of people with mental illnesses. The media and entertainment industries overwhelmingly present people with mental illnesses as dangerous, violent and unpredictable individuals. These inaccurate and unfair portrayals shape the public’s perception of those who suffer from mental disorders as people to be feared and avoided.
This stigma has tragic consequences. Many people with mental health problems fail to seek treatment because of the shame associated with their illness. And most will experience some form of discrimination, whether in the workplace, health insurance plans or social settings.
Mental Health America's Stigma Watch program tracks news and entertainment coverage of mental health issues for fairness and accuracy. Our goal is to correct and prevent stigmatizing advertising, television and radio programming, and print features.
Mental Health America regularly receives reports of stigmatizing incidents through our Stigma Watch line (1-800-969-Mental Health America) and the affiliate network. (Mental Health America responds to all stigmatizing incidents which are broadcast and/or distributed nationally. Local occurrences are referred to the affected affiliate area.)
Usually, Mental Health America responds to these events by contacting the offending organization or sponsors by phone and correspondence. Depending on the incident, NMHA will develop a more targeted strategy to seek the discontinuance of the ad or program. Mental Health America also works closely with the New York City-based National Stigma Clearinghouse to identify and respond to stigmatizing media depictions.
Mental Health America has successfully assisted several large corporations in avoiding inappropriate messages about mental illness in their entertainment programming and advertising campaigns. Sprint and Paramount Television Group are just a few of the organizations that have responded positively to our concerns.
For More Information
Mental Health America continues to expand resources to assist advocates across the country. Please direct inquiries to Mental Health America's Advocacy Resource Center or by phone (1-800-969-6642, option 6).
Page last updated: 11/12/2006