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MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA
Week of July 16, 2003Does the media's portrayal of people with mental illnesses present the public with an accurate picture? In today's program, we explore the links between the mainly negative portrayals of people with mental illnesses in the media and widespread discrimination against those affected by these illnesses. We probe behind the headlines to what really goes on in a newsroom. Finally, we explore how stories about people with mental illnesses can make for "must watch" television that's dramatically compelling and accurate. Guests include Dr. Bernice Pescosolido, director of the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research at Indiana University; Dr. Otto Wahl, professor of psychology at George Mason University; David Gonzalez, an advocate for people with mental illnesses; Liz Spikol, managing editor for the Philadelphia Weekly; Don Sapatkin, health and science editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer; Dr. Neal Baer, executive producer of NBC's popular television show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and former executive producer and writer of ER; and Bill Lichtenstein, documentary filmmaker and the executive producer of The Infinite Mind.
In an introductory essay, Dr. Fred Goodwin, the host of The Infinite Mind highlights a troubling discrepancy. On the one hand, Americans are quick to express compassion for friends, family members, and others affected by mental illness, whom they know personally. On the other hand, when asked about "the mentally ill," the public is likely to respond with sharply negative feelings, including fear of violence and unpredictability.
Why?
Only a small percentage of violent crimes are committed by people with mental illnesses, and the vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent. Dr. Goodwin points to research suggesting that the news and entertainment media fuel the public's fear of people with mental illnesses. "It's not just a matter of hurt feelings," says Dr. Goodwin. "There are measurable consequences." Fear of the "mental illness" label keeps many people from seeking out needed treatment. Stigma also bolsters discrimination in the work place, in social settings, and even among the very health care organizations that are supposed to safeguard the health of their clients.
Next, Dr. Goodwin interviews Dr. Otto Wahl and Dr. Bernice Pescosolido. Dr. Otto Wahl is professor of psychology at George Mason University. He's the author of Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness, published by Rutgers University Press. Dr. Bernice Pescosolido is director of the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research at Indiana University.
In a national study on public perception of mental illness, Dr. Pescosolido followed up on studies from the 1950s. She found that in the past fifty years Americans have become more likely to identify the cause of mental illnesses as chemical imbalances. They are also more willing to seek out treatment for mental health problems. However, when discussing their feelings about people with mental illnesses, they are twice as likely to bring up fears of violence. Americans express reluctance to have someone with a mental illness participate in their work places or marry into their families.
Both Dr. Wahl and Dr. Pescosolido point to the media to explain what's driving these fears. Dr. Wahl points out that his research shows that the majority of images of people with mental illnesses that are in the media are negative. Television and movies are rife with images of the crazed killer and "escaped mental patient." Coverage in newspapers features negative stories about mental illness at double the rate of positive stories. Rarely are people with mental illnesses portrayed as having families, jobs, or being part of a larger community. Crime coverage often raises the idea that a criminal may have a psychiatric history, reinforcing the public's notion that there is an intimate link between violence and mental illness. When crimes are committed by someone with a mental illness the stories are more likely to be covered and more often given prominent placement. The struggle of advocates for more accurate and representative portrayals is very much like what other disenfranchised groups have faced. The civil rights movement offers one big lesson, says Dr. Wahl, "Speak up."
To learn more about the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research (ICMHSR) or to contact Dr. Bernice Pescosolido, visit the web site for the ICMHSR. Or write to her at ICMHSR, 1022 E. Third Street Bloomington, IN 47405
To learn more about Dr. Otto Wahl and his work visit his web site.
To buy Dr. Otto Wahl's book Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness, click here.
Next, we hear from David Gonzalez, an advocate for people with mental illnesses. He maintains a web site, http://www.seecinemania.com/ on which he reviews cinematic, newspaper and television coverage of people with mental illnesses. Negative and inaccurate depictions hurt him, he says, because they reinforce the kinds of stigma that he and other people with mental illnesses face every day. "I coined the term 'Cinemania' out of frustration," he says. "It was my way of saying let's take a look at who's crazy here, the media with it's obsessive, compulsive labeling of people with mental illnesses as violent, or those of us who are labeled with mental illnesses."
To contact Mr. Gonzalez,click here to visit seecinemania.com.
Next, The Infinite Mind's June Peoples takes us behind the headlines to look at how newsrooms handle stories about mental health. She interviews two working newspaper journalists in Philadelphia. Liz Spikol is managing editor for the Philadelphia Weekly. Don Sapatkin is the health and science editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer. June Peoples begins by suggesting that the stories that are most open to criticism are usually written by reporters whose beat is not mental health and involve crime. Stories often break late in the working day, says Mr. Sapatkin, and journalists must write stories before they've talked with all the sources they might need to cover the story fully. Liz Spikol writes a weekly column based on her own experiences, called "The Trouble with Spikol," in which she often writes about her own manic depression, as well as covering other mental health stories. She says reporters covering mental health stories should include consumers of mental health services among their sources, rather than sticking to professional experts. June Peoples adds that reporters following this advice are also likely to meet some very interesting people.
To contact Don Sapatkin or access his work online, visit the web site for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Or write to him at The Philadelphia Inquirer, P.O. Box 8263 Philadelphia, Pa. 19101.
To contact Liz Spikol or access her column online, visit the web site for The Philadelphia Weekly. Or write to her at Philadelphia Weekly, 1701 Walnut St, Philadelphia PA, 19103.
Then, is it possible that depictions of mental illness can be dramatically compelling and at the same time accurate? Can they even educate and inform? Next, we look at fiction and nonfiction portrayals that aim to do just that. Dr. Goodwin interviews television producer, writer, and physician Dr. Neal Baer and documentary and radio producer Mr. Bill
Lichtenstein. Dr. Neal Baer is executive producer of NBC's popular television show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Before that, Dr. Baer served as executive producer on NBC's E.R. Bill Lichtenstein is the executive producer of The Infinite Mind. He's also the producer, with June Peoples, of the documentary film West 47th Street, which follows four people with mental illnesses over a three-year period. The film, produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media, which also produces The Infinite Mind, will make its national television broadcast premier on PBS's P.O.V. on August 19, 2003 at 10PM (check local listings.)
Eight years ago, Bill Lichtenstein oversaw the design of a campaign at Lichtenstein Creative Media that was aimed at lessening the stigma of mental illness in New York City. The campaign involved extensive original research that examined the public's perception of people living with mental illness and how to change it. In public opinion research involving New York City residents, the majority of respondents said that they personally knew someone with a mental illness and said that more tax money should be spent on helping people with mental illnesses. However, when people in the same demographic were asked in focus groups about their views on "the mentally ill," respondents were quick to summon up violent images drawn from sensational tabloid stories. The research went on to conclude that knowing someone personally with mental illness had a significant impact on the way people look at those with the disorders. Mr. Lichtenstein concludes that to change public attitudes about mental health, "You can either hire a thousand mentally ill people to walk up and down the streets shaking people's hands," or you can do produce programs where you get to know people with mental illness, personally.
Dr. Baer produced and wrote several notable episodes of ER in which actress Sally Field played the mother of an emergency room nurse. Ms. Field won an Emmy for her stunning portrayal of a woman with manic depression. In preparing for her role, Dr. Baer tells us, Ms. Field talked with many people with manic depression as well as psychiatrists.
He says that the production teams behind ER and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit give careful attention to detail and accuracy. The sense of verisimilitude draws in audiences, he says. Furthermore, Dr. Baer's research demonstrates that the public learns a great deal of the information about medical illnesses as presented in popular public television shows.
Mr. Lichtenstein's documentary film, West 47th Street, which he produced with his wife, June Peoples, follows four people from a community mental health program called Fountain House over the course of three years. In a clip from West 47th Street, Frances Olivero, who has manic depression, tells us that Fountain House has helped him emerge from his illness. "They treat you like a person," he says. But the film also features the troubling story of one person, Fitzroy Fredericks, who does not comply with treatment.
To learn more about Dr. Neal Baer's work, visit the web sites for Law and Order: Special Victims Unit or ER To contact Dr. Baer, write to 100 Universal City Plaza, Building 2252, Universal City, CA 91608.
To learn more about Bill Lichtenstein and June People's documentary, West 47th Street, click here. To contact Mr. Lichtenstein, click here or write to Lichtenstein Creative Media, One Broadway, 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142.
John Hockenberry concludes the show with commentary. Accuracy in media isn't often achieved, he suggests. "The media is all brainstem, hot buttons, happy endings, ultimate evil, heroes, miracle cures. Not a lot of shading here." The only thing real about mental illness in the media, says Hockenberry, is the media's continuing interest in the mind, the theater in which all drama is played out.
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