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Media representations of mental illness & policy implications in Greece

This study examines televised portrayals of madness and their impact on mental health policy in Greece. It discusses lay ideas about madness, explores how madness is depicted on television, and assesses the role of these portrayals in shaping public perceptions. The study also presents current mental health policy in Greece and investigates the influence of lay ideas on policy development.

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Media representations of mental illness & policy implications in Greece

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  1. Media representations of mental illness & policy implications in Greece Marina BASTOUNIS,University of Paris 5,Institute of Psychology Michail MAVROMMATIS,University of Essex, Dept. of Sociology

  2. Aim and Objectives of the Study • Aim: To examine televised representations of madness in relation to mental health policy in Greece. • Objectives: • To discuss current lay ideas about madness. • To show how madness and the mad are portrayed on television. • To assess the role of these portrayals on the shaping of lay ideas about madness. • To present current mental health policy in Greece. • To investigate the role of lay ideas on the course of mental health policy. ROMA 2006

  3. Previous Studies • Bibliography on televised representations of madness in Greece is very limited. ROMA 2006

  4. Psychiatry in Greece • 1862: Initiation of Institutional Psychiatry in Greece. • 1957: Introduction of the ‘Leros Colony of Psychopaths’. • 1984: The 5-year plan for the reform of Greece’s psychiatric services. The Mental Health reform. ROMA 2006

  5. Economou & Stephanis (2001) ROMA 2006

  6. The Greek Movie Industry (1950-60) • Constantly re-run in prime time • Drama: Madness related to the female mental breakdown • Comedy: the happy madman & the bizarre psychiatrist. • Rarely is the madman related to violence or crime. • Social instrumentalisation of madness: one can be driven mad by relatives. ROMA 2006

  7. Study 1: Quantitative Analysis of Greek Television Fiction: 1990 to 1995 • Based on TV-guide summaries • 47 characters appearing in 45 prime time series • Madness related to • male characters in comedy & • female characters in drama • Familiarising • “psychological problems” of both genders & • the intervention of psychiatry in their resolution. • Excluding any realistic discussion of psychosis ROMA 2006

  8. ROMA 2006

  9. STUDY 1Quantitative Analysis of Greek Television Fiction: 1990 to 1995 • In clinical terms: • Neurotic type of disorders are dealt with frequently as not stigmatising, similarly with psychiatric treatment & psychotherapy. • Psychosis is represented as mysterious & dangerous, in a smaller number of productions ROMA 2006

  10. Content Analysis of Television Fiction 1995-2000 • Focused again on the plot of fictional productions aired in prime time ROMA 2006

  11. STUDY 2: Television Fiction 1995-2000 • Stereotypical beliefs such as that the mad are dangerous, threatening, criminal, and deserve to be placed in the margins of society. ROMA 2006

  12. I Lampsi and Kalimera Zoi • The two series whose episodes are mostly used in this study. ROMA 2006

  13. Have you seen or heard at the news or read in the newspapers anything relevant to schizophrenics? If yes, how was their profile described? ROMA 2006

  14. Which, in your opinion, is the best treatment for schizophrenia? ROMA 2006

  15. What are the reasons for opposing the introduction of local guesthouses for people with schizophrenia? ROMA 2006

  16. Conclusion • Representations of ‘madness’ in Greek television empower the widespread fear of contact with the patients • In combination with the absence of the Greek state in the realisation of the mental health policy, the shift to community care is hindered. ROMA 2006

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