Beyond a literacy model for psychiatry in the mass media

Miller, G. (2023) Beyond a literacy model for psychiatry in the mass media. BJPsych Bulletin, (doi: 10.1192/bjb.2023.63) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Professional statements suggest that psychiatrists engage in media work to supply a general audience with medical knowledge informed by relevant professional expertise. However, media work may be motivated by interests other than disinterested service to the well-being of the public, such as fame, money and a platform for one's wider views. The role of media psychiatrist is also crucially shaped by the unpredictable needs of a complex media ecology and marketplace. Furthermore, the properties of the media, and different forms within them, bring implicit meanings such as the wider authorisation of therapeutic self-reflection or the promotion of para-social intimacy. Finally, the media psychiatrist may function as an entrepreneur, converting the currency of celebrity into new forms of cultural, social and political capital. Professional guidelines for media work should be updated in light of such observations.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Miller, Dr Gavin
• Authors: Miller, G.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
• Journal Name: BJPsych Bulletin
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 2056-4694
• ISSN (Online): 2056-4708
• Published Online: 31 July 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in BJPsych Bulletin 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License