Abstract
In war, truth is said to be the first casualty. Something similar may be said for psychiatry. The ability of the media to distort public understanding of mental illness is well described (Wahl, 1995; Philo et al, 1994). Psychiatric disorders, their treatments and those who provide them are all subject to overwhelmingly negative portrayals in the print and broadcast media (Hyler et al, 1991). Dehumanisation, inaccuracy and sensationalism seem to be the media's stock-in-trade. Media professionals make no apology for this, citing the provision of impartial, emotionally-neutral accounts as one of their least pressing concerns (Salter & Byrne, 2000). They also reject the notion that they are responsible for the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes, claiming instead that they merely mirror the values and beliefs of our society (Bolton, 2000). This distorting mirror is of great relevance to psychiatry. It is probably no exaggeration to state that the celebrated cases of Christopher Clunis and Ben Silcock have done more to change the practice of community psychiatry than any College President or Secretary of State over the past 5 decades.
Highlights
In war, truth is said to be the first casualty
The meaning that any individual gives to new ‘facts’ about mental illness depends crucially upon their pre-existing framework of knowledge about the world
Nairn et al (2001) analysed a collection of 50 published items relating to a single news event
Summary
The way in which media portrayals of mental illness alter beliefs and behaviours is poorly understood. Philo et al (1994) noted that people are not passive consumers of information. Philo et al (1994) noted that people are not passive consumers of information Rather, they actively engage with media stories, integrating them with previous stories, images or personal experiences. Nairn et al (2001) analysed a collection of 50 published items relating to a single news event. They identified four major themes: human rights; vulnerability; risk of dangerousness; and the entity ‘psychiatric patient’. It is possible that portrayals of mental illness as being dangerous fulfil a fundamental human need to build distressing images into familiar narratives, regardless of their objective truth, in order to reduce the uncertainty that they provoke (Salter, 2001). It is possible that portrayals of mental illness as being dangerous fulfil a fundamental human need to build distressing images into familiar narratives, regardless of their objective truth, in order to reduce the uncertainty that they provoke (Salter, 2001). Allen and Nairn (1997) demonstrate how the media exploits the pre-existing common sense of the consumer to construct such narratives, reaffirming established beliefs
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