Olympia -- A free training called "How the Media Can Influence Public Perceptions of Mental Illnesses and What You Can Do About It" is scheduled for September 24 in Burien at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, at 19010 1st Avenue South.

The workshop for journalists, mental health professionals and people living with or recovering from mental illness, offers ideas on how we can become better informed about how the media treats mental illness in the news. Participants also learn how to be reliable news sources and use their expertise and firsthand experience to support accurate news reporting.

Conducted by the University of Washington School of Social Work with funding provided by the Mental Health Transformation Project, the Burien training will be the second of eight trainings to be held across Washington state. The first training was held on July 14 in Vancouver, and a third will be held September 30th in Wenatchee during 2009. Additional trainings are being planned for Spokane, Yakima, Tri Cities, North Seattle/Everett and Tacoma/Olympia.

"The disconnect between reality and what is being reported seems to stem from a number of things, including space issues and a lack of good local resources for reporters to rely on," says Jennifer Stuber, PhD, associate professor at the UW School of Social Work. Stuber recently conducted a study analyzing news content from Washington state newspapers over the past 10 years. The study showed news reports often described multi-faceted people in one-dimensional ways. The articles also exaggerated mental illness over all other characteristics.

"Language does matter. We don't walk around calling someone 'the cancer,' but for some reason we have no problem with calling someone 'the bipolar' or 'the schizophrenic,'" says trainer Melanie Green, Mental Health Recovery Coordinator for the Clark County Regional Support Network. During the workshop, Green will address how language shapes public perception.

Green says one of the goals of the free trainings will be to rethink word choices to use "people first" language when talking to reporters. That helps ensure that stigmatizing language is not carried over in news reporting.

"Inaccurate representations of people with mental illness in the news and popular media is creating barriers for employment, housing and developing relationships – three basic necessities to keeping us all contributing successfully to our communities," says Stuber. "It also creates a reluctance to seek treatment, often turning a manageable illness if caught early into something more difficult to treat, or worse, a tragic ending."

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration reports that 38 percent of Americans are unwilling to be friends with someone having mental health difficulties; 4 percent do not want to have someone with schizophrenia as a close coworker; and 68 percent of Americans are unwilling to have someone with depression marry into their families. Additionally, national studies show that people with severe mental illnesses, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychosis, are 2 ½ times more likely to be attacked, raped or mugged than the general population.

One in four people will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their life. In Washington, one in six children experience behavioral challenges. By 2020, the World Health Organization predicts that mental illness will be the leading cause of work place disability.

"The growing number of people diagnosed with mental illness means that we all need to start being more aware, start treating people with mental illness with dignity and respect, help people get the treatment they need, and stop stereotyping in ways that perpetuate discrimination and isolation," says Stuber.

The trainings will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The morning session will focus on research, how language shapes perception, and tips for contacting local media. A panel of local journalists and mental health professionals will field questions during lunch. In the afternoon, participants will work in groups to come up with ideas for portraying mental illness more realistically and practice writing letters to the editor, guest columns, and articles for the media.

The training is sponsored by Mental Health Action, the University of Washington School of Social Work, and the Mental Health Transformation Project.

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Washington's Mental Health Transformation Project is funded through a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMSHA) to the Governor's Office. Washington is one of nine states receiving transformation grants. This state-wide effort engages consumers, family members, youth and agency partners in an effort to improve the state's mental health services and delivery system, consistent with the goals of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. 

DSHS does not discriminate, and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, age, veteran's status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.