Fwd: Debunking "mental illness"/violence myth: Consensus
Morgan Brown (morganbrown@hotmail.com)
Wed, 14 Jan 1998 12:32:51 PST
Hello,
Below is a forward of a message which may be of interest to you or
others you know.
Morgan <morganbrown@hotmail.com>
Morgan W. Brown
Montpelier Vermont USA
Norsehorse's Home Turf: http://members.tripod.com/~Norsehorse/
-------------Forwarded message------------
On: Tue, 13 Jan 1998
<dweitz@interlog.com> Don Weitz forwarded
To: cmckague@aol.com, bat@walnet.org, patientsco@echo-on.net,
prodgers@arcos.org, gbacque@arcos.org, bobolsen@arcos.org
Cc: healnorm@efn.org, dendron@efn.org, cspp@breggin.com,
editoria@thestar.ca,newsroom@globeandmail.ca, national@cbc.ca,
pulse@citytv.com (NEWS),
Subject: Debunking "mental illness"/violence myth:Consensus Statement
[This Consensus Statement was published in an article titled "Violence
By People With Mental Illness: A Consensus Statement By Advocates and
Researchers", by John Monahan and Jean Arnold, Psychiatric
Rehabilitatioin Journal, Spring 1996, vol.19, no.4. As of 1996, this
important demystifying statement was signed by over 41 lawyers,
advocates, psychiatric survivor-activists, and mental health
professionals including some psychiatrists. Please send this to all
mainstream media producers and editors who continue to spread the myth
of the "violent mental patient", believe that "mentally ill" people are
more violent or physically dangerous than "normal" people, and continue
to sensationalize their news stories whenever people accused or
convicted of criminal acts have a psychiatric history. This statement
and other relevant journal articles were kindly sent to me by John
Monahan, Professor of Psychology and Legal Medicine at the University of
Virginia, a widely respected researcher and scholar, and
founding President of the American Psychological Association's Division
of Psychology and the Law.]
"Mental disorder and violence are closely linked in the public mind. A
combination of factors promotes this perception: sensationalized
reporting by the media whenever a violent act is committed by "a former
mental patient," popular misuy=se of psychiatric terms (such as
"psychotic" and "psychopathic"), and exploitation of stock formulas and
narrow stereotypes by the entertainment industry. The public justifies
its fear aand rejection of people labeled mentally ill, and attempts to
segregate them in the community, by this assumption of danger.
"The experience of people with psychiatric conditions and of their
family members paints a picture dramatically different from the
stereotype. The results of several recent large-scale research projects
conclude that only a weak association between mental disorders and
violence exists in the community. Serious violence by people with major
mental disorders appearsconcentrated in a small fraction of the total
number, and especially in those who use alcohol and other drugs. Mental
disorders--in sharp contrast to alcohol and drug abuse--account for a
minuscule portion of the violence that afflicts American society.
"The conclusions of those who use mental health services and of their
family members, and the observations of researchers, suggest that the
way to reduce whatever relationship exists between violence and mental
disorder is to make accessible a range of quality treatments including
peer-based programs, and to eliminate the stigma and discrimination that
discourage, provoke, and penalize those who seek and receive help for
disabling conditions."
-----------End of forwarded message---------
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