Three journalists and a mental health expert discuss the media’s responsibility in shaping public perceptions of mental health, emphasizing how language and storytelling can reduce stigma and promote understanding of mental disorders.
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The shift in public discourse about mental health begins with the words we choose and the way we narrate people’s stories.
This was the consensus among three journalists and a mental health expert who met at the invitation of iMEdD to discuss the role of the media in shaping public opinion on mental health. The discussion took place as part of the second Conference on Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHI) at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC).
“Journalists play a pivotal role,” said Anna Kynthia Bousdoukou, co-founder and managing director of iMEdD, SNF Dialogues executive director, and journalist, opening the discussion. She emphasized not only the topics covered by the media but also the issues that often remain unexplored.
Watch the whole conversation here:
“We are the ones who invite politicians or choose not to invite experts. We decide where to focus—and how we focus—on cases that carry the weight of lived experience. And we are the ones who, in some cases, label without knowing, fostering a flawed culture that reinforces stigma.
“My need is to speak,” said journalist and creator of the newsletter “Don’t tell me How it ends” Valia Dimitrakopoulou, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 21, highlighting the power of firsthand testimony in the public sphere.
“The reason I do all this is because I truly believe that people with mental disorders are potentially functional individuals. And it is the role of the media to educate the public.”
Dimitrakopoulou, who will present the iMEdD-produced podcast Bipolar Opposites on March 15 as part of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, spoke about the challenges she faced during the research and recording process.
“When a person with bipolar disorder talks excessively about bipolar disorder, it can trigger a manic episode,” she explained. However, she added that destigmatization is an extremely important outcome of public discourse on the topic.
“My goal is to create a ‘Me Too’ movement for mental disorders. To eliminate this stigma.”
Offering an international perspective on the role of journalism and the media, Irene Caselli, senior advisor at the Early Childhood Journalism Initiative of Columbia University’s Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, shared her insights.
“I think we are all struggling to find the right words,” she said, referring to the challenges journalists face—whether due to time constraints or lack of training—when covering mental health issues, especially those concerning children and adolescents.
“If we keep propagating what is normal and what is not (..) if we always report on children as cute people, we will not see children as active participants in life,” she emphasized.
Marina Oikonomou-Lalioti, emeritus professor of Psychiatry at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, emphasized the importance of collaboration among all involved stakeholders.
“We are allies—mental health professionals, patients, schools, and families,” she said, outlining a support network that can break the vicious cycle of social stigma.
“Many times, mental illness is linked to violence through labeling,” noted Bousdoukou. “We fear people with mental illness. Or we are afraid to admit that we see a psychologist.”
“Violence is like a parasite hooked onto the concept of mental illness,” added Oikonomou-Lalioti, speaking about the public’s overall “familiarization” with violence due to the stimuli presented by the media.
“If we report on mental health as a problem…it’s very hard for an average parent to think ‘how can I really help my child and where can I find help,” Caselli emphasized, explaining the connection between stigma in public discourse and access to mental health services.
She shared the example of a journalist from Brazil who, despite covering mental health issues, failed to recognize the signs in her daughter—until the moment she had to take her to the emergency department of a hospital.
“We have these representations so internalized,” said Caselli, that even in our own home, with our child, we cannot see it.
“Mental illness is simply another aspect of the human experience—it is not a weakness, but a richness,” added Dimitrakopoulou.
“It is very important to see the person suffering from a psychiatric illness as just another person whose essence is the same. Let them tell their story.”
*“Bipolar Opposites” is the audio documentary created through the second open call for podcast creators, organized by iMEdD and the Thessaloniki Film Festival, during the Documentary Festival 2024. The podcast will be presented on 15 March 2025 at the Documentary Film Festival and will soon be available on podcast.imedd.org, as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.
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