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Reducing the stigma of mental illness. (Professional Exchange).

Article Excerpt
In a recent national survey, Pescosolido, Monahan, Link, Stueve, and Kikuzawa (1999) found that while Americans' current knowledge of mental illness is greater than in 1950, Americans continue to fear people with mental illness. Each year, an estimated 50 million Americans will experience a mental disorder while only one fourth of them will seek mental health services (Center for Mental Health Services, [CMHS] 2000). This figure represents about one-third more Americans than those diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Why do Americans refuse to seek help for mental illness? We contend that this disparity results from the stigma attached to mental illness. Counselors must educate the general public about the misconceptions of mental illness and advocate for parity in mental health insurance coverage.

WHAT IS STIGMA?

The word stigma originated in ancient Greece and is derived from a word meaning to mark someone. The American Heritage College Dictionary (Berube et al., 1993) defines stigma as a mark of disgrace or reproach. Stigma is not simply the use of negative labels or wrong words; it is disrespectful to the individual who has mental illness. It further discourages the individual from seeking the help needed for fear of discrimination (CMHS, 2000). Furthermore, stigma encourages fear, mistrust, and violence against people with mental illness. Clifford Beers described this stigma in his 1908 book, A Mind that Found Itself (1966). This book, written 93 years ago, gives a chilling account of Beers' experiences in a mental hospital at the turn of the century. Today, stigma still exists because of negative portrayal in the media, specifically, in newspapers and entertainment. Newspapers emphasize the mental illness background of perpetrators of violent crimes (National Mental Health Association, [NMHA] 2000). The entertainment industry portrays people with mental illness with negative terms (NMHA, 2000). Additionally, research on television viewing by Granello and Pauley (2000) "suggests that television portrays inaccurate and unfavorable images of mental illness" (p. 171). For example, this past television season, the popular series, ER aired six episodes that starred Sally Field as Abby's mother. Field's character was described as Abby's "bipolar mother," (Episode Guide, 2001). The publicity write-ups describing these episodes included adjectives such as:...

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