WISCONSIN UNITED
for MENTAL HEALTH

Prejudice, stigmatization, and discrimination are deeply embedded in our language, in our beliefs, and in the way we interact with one another. Though a mental illness is only one aspect of an individual’s life, all too often the label alone bars that person from achieving a self-directed life with meaningful connections to his or her community.

Learn more:

Challenging Stereotypes: An Action Guide (Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHSA, U.S. DHHS publication)

Before You Label People, Look At Their Contents  (National Mental Health Information Center)

Guidance for Using Transformational (People First) Language (ADS Center)

Words Matter from People Who

Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness (academic journal article from the World Psychiatric Association)

"A Prejudice That Kills" (article by Abigail Trafford of the Washington Post)