As mental health professionals, we are acutely aware of the impact mental illnesses have on our patients and communities. We also are deeply cognizant of the shame individuals who suffer from mental illness, and their loved ones, carry due to societal stigma surrounding mental illness.
What is shameful is the way people who grapple with mental illness are treated by society.
While the tide has turned over the last several decades with more awareness and education, there are still deeply rooted misconceptions about mental illness, especially for those with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and medication-resistant depression. Namely, there are untruths that people with these types of illnesses are more violent than those without. The truth is that people with mental illness are more prone to be the victims, and not the perpetrators, of violent crimes.
There is substantial work to do to increase empathy for people with any mental health disorder in our efforts to reduce stigma. To increase awareness and combat stigma, department members Gustavo Perez, PhD, and Jamie Manser have planned the For All of Us | Humanizing Mental Illness: Understanding Psychosis event. This program is scheduled for June 8, and we are seeing significant community interest for this event. People are so eager to learn that the event is now at capacity. It is heartening to see the Tucson community interested in learning about the struggles people with psychiatric illness experience, and we plan to keep building on this interest.