Improving media reporting of mental health
Media coverage of mental health, and portrayals of people living with mental health difficulties, have a significant impact on public understanding and on people’s lives. Stigmatising coverage, drawing on stereotypes and misperceptions, is harmful to people with mental health difficulties.
In 2005, Centre for Mental Health carried out an extensive review of media coverage at the time to inform the Government’s anti-stigma campaign, Shift. It was later used by Time to Change – the national campaign that led to major improvements in public understanding about mental health and reductions in stigma and discrimination.
The report found that, in 2005, media coverage of mental health has highly stigmatising. People living with mental health difficulties were rarely heard or given a voice, and stereotypes abounded. The report, published early in 2006, made recommendations for government and charities about how to change this, and ways of working with media organisations to create fairer and more truthful representations.
