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How to report on mental health

Media reporting can have a huge influence on public attitudes towards mental health.

When dealing with a topic already entrenched with stigma and misunderstanding, fair and accurate journalism is crucially important.

The Press Complaints Commission code of practice states that:

1. The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual's race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability.
2. Details of an individual's race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability must be avoided unless genuinely relevant to the story.

Shift, a government body set up to tackle stigma and discrimination in mental health, produces a handbook for journalists on how to cover mental health sensitively and responsibly. 

How to report on suicide

The way that suicide is reported can have a direct impact on the incidence of 'copy cat suicides', so it's essential to take care when reporting individual cases. The Samaritans produce a media guide on reporting suicide.

Tags (entire site): Change society, Discrimination and stigma, Give people a voice