Improving Reporting on Mental Health

In partnership with SAMHSA, the World Psychiatric Association, and the International Center for Journalists, this project will update guidelines to support journalists in solutions-based, non-stigmatizing reporting.

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has been a driving force in the field of mental health for 50+ years. She was a member of the Governor's Commission to Improve Services to the Mentally and Emotionally Handicapped when her husband, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, was governor of Georgia. As active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health during President Carter's administration, she helped bring about passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980. With the inception of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism in 1996, Mrs. Carter launched one of the most successful programs in combating the stigma associated with mental illnesses. Under the leadership of Mrs. Carter, the Carter Center's Mental Health Program (MHP) works to promote awareness about mental health issues, inform public policy, achieve equity for mental health care comparable to other health care, and reduce stigma and discrimination against those with mental illnesses