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Understanding Children and Young People’s Mental Health
Many of these are about how different cultural backgrounds impact upon the way
mental ill health is treated, and many illustrate how different attitudes in society can
help or hinder the person’s recovery.
There are various ways in which the media can stigmatise mental ill health, including:
• Using medical terminology incorrectly
• Using victimising language such as ‘suffering with’ or ‘affected by’ a
mental illness
• Glamorising reports of celebrity suicides
• Mocking or trivialising mental illness
• Using outdated or inappropriate terms such as ‘lunatic’, ‘mental patient’
or ‘psycho’.
The impact of the media on the psychosocial development of children can be
profound, and negative portrayals by the media can encourage stereotyping and
negative attitudes in children from an early age.
R Further Research: Media and mental health
Type the link below into a browser and watch the video about the
media’s approach to the portrayal of mental health problems and
how important it is to do this with sensitivity. Make notes in the
space below.
https://youtu.be/mPDodeTQ2GA
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