Mental health depictions in some of our most loved TV soaps and drama are becoming more authentic and prompt people to seek support according to new report ‘Making a drama out of a crisis’ launched by Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The report comes as TV’s longest running soap takes on a mental health storyline, with Coronation Street’s Steve McDonald coming to terms with being diagnosed with depression later this month.
Time to Change worked with the Glasgow Media Group who monitored TV drama series over a three month period from big budget box sets to homegrown soaps. They found that mental health is being covered more frequently compared to a previous study in 2010 with storylines in soaps such as EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Home and Away through to dramas including My Mad Fat Diary, Orange Is the New Black and Homeland.
The researchers observed the growth of a relatively new type of narrative, focusing on the damaging stigma a character with a mental health problem faces and the harmful effects of exclusion. However, they also found that there are still some overly simplistic portrayals and misinformation about medication.
The report also includes new findings about the impact that mental health storylines have on wider public debate revealing encouraging results, including:
- Over half (54 per cent) of people say that seeing a well-known character on screen has improved their understanding of mental health problems.
- 48 per cent said it helped to change their opinion about the kind of people who can develop these problems.
- 31 per cent said it actively inspired them to start a conversation about the storyline with friends, family or colleagues.
Coronation Street Producer, Stuart Blackburn speaks about why they decided to take on a storyline around depression:
"A particular challenge we faced with Steve and his depression is the audience's fear that the Steve they loved is gone for good. What viewers love about him primarily is the comedy - he's affable, hapless Steve, the bloke next door. But I've told the writers his DNA hasn't changed. His head might be taking a battering at the moment, but he still has the same wit, still has good days and bad days. And you can't rush the story.
“We've got to find a way to tell the truth about this, warts and all, AND entertain the audience. You hope a show like Corrie can genuinely make a difference to tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, who'll be watching with different eyes or thinking 'Maybe I should go to the doctor' - but we won't get through to them if they're turning off."
British comedy The Thick of It satirises the inner workings of modern British government. Rebecca Front, the actress who plays the character Nicola Murray says:
“As an actress, if the character has any kind of health problem – mental or physical – you have to research it thoroughly. It’s incredibly important to get it right, and a bit insulting to people who have that condition if you don’t. I think there are more open discussions in life as well as in drama about the widespread nature of mental health issues, and the fact that you can be a fully functioning member of society while still dealing with a problem yourself.”
Stephanie Waring who plays Cindy Cunningham in Hollyoaks said:
“When I was told that Cindy was to find herself battling mental health problems I was excited to take on the challenge of such an important role as raising awareness is very important to me and something I feel very connected to personally.
“I suffered from post-natal depression, which is not what affected Cindy, but it is a mental health problem and so I do have experience of how frightening and isolating it can feel when there is something very wrong and you want to feel better but you just don’t know how to.
“My character is at first diagnosed with bipolar but suffers further problems. Mental health can be difficult to diagnose and hard to recover from which is why support is so essential and why we have to stop the stigma surrounding mental health problems because being able to talk about it is the first step.
“Someone close to me suffers from bi-polar and they along with health professionals helped me to research the role. It was so important to me to do it justice. Cindy has a long way to go on her journey but I know it is important to the producers that Cindy does recover and find a way to live a full and happy life because we need the message to be a positive one.”
The report is being announced days before the Mind Media Awards (17 November), which celebrate the best examples of reporting and portrayal of mental health in print, broadcast and digital media. A diverse shortlist in the Drama category this year sees E4 comedy drama My Mad Fat Diary compete against period drama Call the Midwife, children’s programme The Dumping Ground and medical drama Casualty.
BAFTA winning screenwriter and Mind Media Awards judge Peter Moffat said:
"Drama can make a huge difference in the struggle to get people thinking about mental health properly and without prejudice. It doesn’t need to be polemical or campaigning, it only needs to be truthful. Homeland has set the standard for complex and honest writing about mental health and we all need to follow its lead.”
Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change says:
“The media have the ability to shape and form public opinion so it’s important that some of the country’s best loved soaps and drama series are taking on mental health storylines, doing them accurately, not fuelling stigma and helping improve understanding.
“The media advisory services we offer at Time to Change has already worked on over 50 television and radio scripts including EastEnders, Holby City and more recently Coronation Street. We encourage all writers to make use of this service.
“Through their work, writers have the ability to breakdown stigma and discrimination through exploring issues and bringing them right into the nation’s living rooms.”
Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb, said:
“It is essential that we put an end to the stigma around mental illness and I want to congratulate soaps like Eastenders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks for starting positive conversations. We will continue to invest in valuable work by Time to Change and I urge all entertainment and media outlets to help make stigma a thing of the past.”
The full ‘Making a drama out of a crisis’ report is available at www.time-to-change.org.uk from 11 November 2014.
Ends/
For more information please contact Gavin Kimble, Senior Media Officer at Time to Change at [email protected] or call 020 8215 2341/07584 003 703.
Notes to Editors
The report
Earlier in 2014 Time to Change commissioned the Glasgow Media Group (at the University of Glasgow) to analyse three months of TV soap and drama to identify themes in the way that mental health problems are being portrayed. It builds on a similar report that they undertook in 2010.
The Poll
Populus interviewed a random sample of 2,004 GB adults aged 18+ from its online panel between 24-26 October 2014. Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. Populus is a founder member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information at www.populus.co.uk
Time to Change
Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems. The programme is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and funded by the Department of Health, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund.
For more information go to www.time-to-change.org.uk
Department of Health
On 2 February 2011 the Department of Health launched No health without mental health, a cross-government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages which has the twin aims of keeping people well and improving their mental health and, when people are not well, improving their outcomes through high-quality services.
The strategy is based on six shared objectives, developed with partners from across the mental health sector, and focuses on ‘Recovery’ and the reduction of stigma and discrimination as overarching themes.
To help deliver the objective to reduce the stigma faced by people with mental health problems, in 2011 the Department agreed to support Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The Department of Health is providing the campaign with up to £16 million of funding together with a further £4 million from Comic Relief and £3.6 million from the Big Lottery Fund. This funding will help Time to Change continue their work until March 2015.
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is committed to supporting people living with mental health problems. The projects Comic Relief funds ensure people with mental health problems get their voices heard in the decisions that affect their lives and get the help they need to recover. Comic
Relief also helps people to promote their rights and reduce the stigma and discrimination they face so that they feel more included in society. The £4 million grant to Time to Change is the second time the charity has awarded Time to Change its largest UK grant and is part of Comic Relief's long standing commitment to this issue. For more information go to www.comicrelief.com
Big Lottery Fund
Big Lottery Fund supported the first phase of Time to Change with funding of over £20million, and in 2013 awarded the programme a further £3.6m from its Well-being programme to build on its success and work with targeted communities. Big Lottery Fund also supported the campaign’s roll out across Wales.
The largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, Big Lottery Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has awarded close to £6bn to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since 2004. For full details of the Big Lottery Fund's work visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk