NEW *HOW TO* GUIDE RELEASED TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION
IN THE MEDIA AGAINST PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

Despite increasing sensitivity about most disabilities, mental illness all
too often remains a target for ridicule and misrepresentation in
advertising, entertainment, and the mainstream media. A new publication
*Challenging Stereotypes: An Action Guide* released today by the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration*s (SAMHSA) Center for
Mental Health Services (CMHS) is designed to help reduce the prejudice
toward people who have mental illnesses.
*The guide calls attention to the continuing problem in the way people with
mental health problems are depicted in the media,* said SAMHSA Acting
Administrator Joseph H. Autry III, M.D. *As with all serious illnesses, the
well-being of recovering individuals is affected by the attitudes that
surround them. By working with the media we can lead public opinion away
from stereo typic thinking.*
The guide recognizes the mass media as one of the most important and
effective tools available to help educate the public. It offers ways to
work with the media to provide accurate depictions of people with mental
illness and their recovery. It also offers constructive ways to call
attention when information is wrong or hurtful. The guide offers sample
letters and addresses for contacting local and national media. It also
lists groups working to reduce the misperceptions of people who are coping
with and recovering from mental illness, and other books and *how-to*
guides for working with the media.
CMHS Director Bernard S. Arons, MD., said, *All avenues of public education
must be used to overcome the misperceptions that belie the present-day
realities of mental illness. This publication is one educational tool to
accomplish the task.*

Presented as part of the World Health Organization*s efforts this month to
raise public awareness on the need to improve mental health around the
globe, copies of *Recovering Your Mental Health, A Self-Help Guide,* can be
ordered free of charge from the CMHS clearinghouse by calling
1-800-789-CMHS or through the Internet at and then click on CMHS.