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Welcome to Monadnock Family Services' Open Minds: Challenging Stigma and Discrimination webpage. Located in this section are information and materials to challenge, inform and enlighten visitors about mental illness, and the stigma and discrimination that arise from inaccurate portrayals, misinformation and uninformed attitudes.
Much of the information -- including a five part curriculum and extensive resource list-- was gleaned from the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Mental Illness Awareness Guide for Educators. You are welcome to download these materials from the website or you can order this guide and others by calling toll-free 1-888-267-5400.
There is also a wealth of information available by clicking on the Our Links button on the MFS homepage. This will take you to an extensive list of links to organizations whose websites offer accurate and understandable information on a wide range of mental health topic and issues.
The APA cirriculum featured here is appropriate for a wide range of audiences from classroom to workplace to community gatherings. Each module contains a lesson plan, discussion guide and comprehensive fact sheets on the topics covered.
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Module One: An Introduction to Mental Illness provides an overview of the prevalence and scope of mental illness, an exploration of the stigma that surrounds the illnesses and the people who have them. |
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Two: Defining the Illnesses examines how inaccurate protrayals and stereotypes create barriers to treatment. |
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Three: The Illnesses provides an overview of five major mental illnesses. |
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Four: Diagnosis + Treatment = Recovery provides an extensive overview of sources of treatment, support and information. |
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Five: A Review provides an opportunity for review and to hear a personal account of a person living with a mental illness. |
Also included here are sections offering ideas for additional programs, supporting facts and statistics and resources. The MFS Speakers' Bureau is also featured here, as is the overview, What is Mental Illness?, which discusses the work of MFS in your community.
This section of the MFS Website will continue to expand and develop with a goal of providing the information and resources necessary to decrease the stigma and discrimination that people with a mental illness experience in our culture, our communities, our world.