Online news reporting on psychosis and schizophrenia needs to challenge stigma

A new report shows that while the overwhelming majority of articles avoided reinforcing stigma, very few articles actively challenged negative public perceptions

Speaking of his own experience Conor Gavin said: 'When I came out of my first episode when I was 15 or 16, the psychiatrist said to me, ‘You’ve had experience of psychosis, but this doesn’t mean you’re a psychopath.’ It was important for him to make that distinction because of what I might have read up until that point in the media.'

Online news reporting on psychosis and schizophrenia is failing to actively challenge stigma.

In a joint effort between the University of Galway’s PSYcHE project, headed by professor of psychology Gary Donohoe, and Headline, the national programme for responsible reporting on mental ill-health, researchers analysed 656 articles from 2021 that referenced schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and psychosis. 

They found that while the overwhelming majority of articles avoided reinforcing stigma, very few articles actively challenged negative public perceptions. Only 12% provided information that confronted stereotypes, less than 3% included a contribution from someone with lived experience, and just 5% supplied a signpost to relevant support services.

According to Donohoe, simply “avoiding pejorative language” and “providing correct information” is not enough to change negative attitudes towards people living with schizophrenia and related diagnoses. 

What [we] really need is to combat stigma myths by including a contribution from somebody with lived experience. Then you get to know the person, and once you get to know the person, your attitude towards the illness or the disorder changes. It humanises [their] experience.

Conor Gavin, a person living with schizoaffective disorder, played an integral role in the study by providing his own experiential expertise, and helping to score the articles based on stigma-measuring criteria developed by Headline. 

Living 'like normal' 

When asked what is missing from the media’s reporting of schizophrenia and related disorders, he says: “[We need] more stories about people like me who are just living normally. 

"A lot of people with diagnoses like this can live perfectly normal, healthy productive lives, and meaningful lives. I work on the [Psyche] project [as a peer supporter]. That’s a good example for people who are a bit younger than me. It is possible to come out of it and to recover and do well.

“When I came out of my first episode when I was 15 or 16,” Conor says, “the psychiatrist said to me, ‘You’ve had experience of psychosis, but this doesn’t mean you’re a psychopath.’ It was important for him to make that distinction because of what I might have read up until that point in the media."

Emmet Godfrey, the study's first author, found that 60% of the articles were reported in the context of a court case or a violent crime. While journalists have an obligation to report on these cases, Áine O’ Meara, programme leader for Headline, says: 

Commissioning editors can also choose to tell the other side of that story. In order to challenge that false notion of schizophrenia or psychosis being intrinsically linked to violence, we need to not let court cases or Hollywood be audiences’ only frame of reference.

Early Intervention for Psychosis (EIP) national clinical lead Karen O'Connor, says people living with psychosis are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. 

Research has shown that individuals with schizophrenia in the community are up to 14 times more likely to be victims of violence than to commit it, with victimization rates 65-130% higher than the general public.

Although media portrayals of schizophrenia and related conditions tend to overlook recovery, O'Connor emphasizes that 60-70% of individuals with psychosis can achieve full recovery or symptom resolution to the point of leading independent lives. 

While relapses can occur for some, O'Connor notes that EIP teams now offer a broad range of treatment options, including medication, cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) and trauma-informed care, as well employment, physical health, and family supports.

'Lack of voices'

 According to O’ Connor, access to an EIP service is crucial for timely treatment and recovery, but the “lack of recovery-oriented voices” can discourage individuals from seeking care. 

Stigma also restricts funding for developing and expanding services, with only 18% of adults currently able to access EIP teams in the event of an episode of psychosis.

According to Donohoe, many people living with schizophrenia and related diagnoses are afraid to speak openly about their experience. Drawing on a 2018 Headline study of media professionals’ attitudes towards reporting on severe mental ill-health, O’ Meara reveals that those working in the media industry are also afraid. 

She says: “Media workers who took part in the research, whether they worked in factual programming or news publishing, were so afraid they’d get it wrong that they just didn’t cover aspects of severe mental illness at all. This is a gap that Headline is actively trying to fill.” 

The study, which was published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine in recent days, offers three key focus areas for journalists reporting on schizophrenia and related diagnoses:

• Signposting to relevant supports 
• Inclusion of first-person lived experiences
• And actively challenging harmful stereotypes

O’ Meara says the study offers guidance and a roadmap for journalists, who have successfully avoided reinforcing stigma and are now looking to “move the dial further.” 

In addressing the “root cause” of the misrepresentation of severe mental ill-health, she stresses the importance of recognising the shared commitment of both the mental health and media sectors to social justice and progress, instead of diverting resources to blame campaigns.