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Consumer/Survivor Information
Challenging Stereotypes: An Action Guide

For More Information

A growing number of groups are working to eradicate stigma and discrimination. At the same time, researchers are providing better understanding of the prevalence of stigma and discrimination and their effects.

This section furnishes links to groups with a common interest in the impact of widespread misperceptions on people who are coping with and recovering from mental illnesses.

Included is a list of informative books, including “how-to” guides for working with the media.

Mental Health Organizations with an Anti-Stigma/Anti-Descrimination Focus

Federal

Non-Government

Information on the Internet

The information below is subject to change and the addition of new sites. Use Internet search engines to find additional anti-stigma and anti-discrimination information on the Internet.

Federal

Non-Government

Researchers Interested in Stigma and Discrimination

The purpose of this list, first, is to let you know who are researchers currently working in the area of mental health and social inclusion. Second, it is to enable you to refer members of the media to nationally known experts who can provide accurate, research-based information.

A Short List of Books

1. Carter, Rosalynn. Helping Someone with Mental Illness. (New York, NY: Times Books/Random House, 1998)

   Mrs. Carter’s concern about the adverse effects of prejudice pervades this informative book. It furnishes resource lists of books, information clearinghouses, Web sites, and a directory of organizations.

2. Deterline, Kim. Media Activist Tool Kit To Challenge Myths and Stereotypes In The News. (San Francisco, CA: We Interrupt This Message, 1997)

   Topics include how to detect bias in the news, how to communicate with journalists, how to write a letter to the editor, how to meet with news management, and how to organize a demonstration. A tip-sheet format makes it easy to photocopy individual pages for use in meetings, mailings, and other situations that urge media action.

3. Fink, Paul Jay and Tasman, Alan, editors. Stigma and Mental Illness (Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, 1992)

   First-person accounts of stigma open this book. There are chapters on attitudes toward mental illness in ancient Greece, medieval and renaissance Europe, and 19th century United States. There are also chapters on the stigma of psychiatric hospitalization and how it affects people, on the attitudes of medical students, and on the stigmatization of psychiatrists.

4. Philo, Greg, editor. Media and Mental Distress. The Glasgow University Media Group (New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1996)

   This book is a product of research conducted by the Glasgow University Media Group on the media and mental health/mental illness in Britain. Its central theme is the routine stigmatization of mental illness by the media and how these images affect the public, caregivers, and mental health survivors.

5. Shapiro, Joseph P. No Pity: People With Disabilities Forging A New Civil Rights Movement. (New York: Times Books/Random House, 1994)

   This book chronicles the birth of the independent living movement and its progress alongside the civil rights struggles of other minorities.

6. Salzman, Jason. Making The News. A Guide For Nonprofits And Activists. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998)

   This handbook, based on interviews with activists and journalists, explains how to generate news coverage about any worthy cause or issue. It tells how to plan media events, write press releases, contact reporters, deliver sound bites, lobby editorial writers, and more.

7. Wallack, Lawrence. News for a Change: An Advocate's Guide to Working With the Media. (Thousand Oaks, CA; Sage Publications, 1999)

   This book is a comprehensive instruction manual for grassroots activists working for social change. Step-by-step techniques for presenting health issues to the media are illustrated by concrete examples.

8. Wallack, Lawrence et.al. Media Advocacy and Public Health. Power for Prevention. (Newbury, CA: Sage Publications, 1993)

   This book examines the role of the media in framing public health debates. The chapters that lay out the theoretical underpinnings of mass communication as a tool for change are of interest to serious students of public health and safety.

9. Wahl, Otto F. Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995)

   This book about media images of psychiatric conditions draws its examples from entertainment, advertising, and the news. Dr. Wahl’s analysis of the stereotypes is also a plea for change.

10. Wahl, Otto F. Telling Is Risky Business: Mental Health Consumers Confront Stigma. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1999)

    The experience of stigma and discrimination is told in the words of mental health consumers in Dr. Wahl’s second book. Information about coping strategies, resources, and what mental health consumers would like the public to understand about their vulnerabilities are highlights of this unique book.

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Updated 7/03