Language Guide for Reporting on Mental Health
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Meet the 2019-2020 Fellows
Maryam Abujbara
Maryam Abujbara majors in journalism and strategic communications with a minor in Middle Eastern studies at Northwestern…
Melanie Saltzman
Melanie Saltzman reports, shoots and produces stories for PBS NewsHour Weekend. Much of her reporting focuses on…
Aitana Vargas
Aitana Vargas is a Columbia University graduate and an award-winning on-camera news reporter, foreign correspondent, and live tennis…
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of the fellowship?
The goals of the fellowship are to:
- Increase effective and accurate reporting on behavioral health issues
- Equip journalists with the tools needed to produce high-quality work that reflects an understanding of behavioral health
- Develop a diverse cohort of better-informed journalists who can more effectively report on behavioral health across evolving and emerging platforms
How are fellows announced or notified?
Where can I find samples of previous fellowship projects?
Where can I find out about the fellowships in New Zealand, Romania or South Africa?
Recently
Black farmers face specific, outsized challenges in rural mental health crisis
KOSU by Anna Pope, September 23, 2024: Located in southern Oklahoma, the Town of Tatums is home to 111 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. If you or someone you know is considering suicide or is in emotional crisis, dial or text 988 to reach out to the National Suicide…
Arizona cracked down on Medicaid fraud that targeted Native Americans. It left patients without care.
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting by Hannah Bassett and Mary Hudetz, September 10, 2024: Arizona suspended scores of behavioral health providers as authorities investigated them for defrauding the American Indian Health Plan. The state’s actions left patients homeless and without treatment. Before her fifth birthday, Rainy had experienced a lifetime…
The Carter Center Awards Two Non-U.S. Journalists New Climate Change Mental Health Fellowships
Aug. 2, 2024 ATLANTA — The Carter Center has awarded two journalists a new fellowship as part of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. This new fellowship, a shared initiative of the Carter Center Human Rights and Mental Health programs, supports journalists’ efforts to explore the impacts of…
Despite efforts to close gap, parity in mental health care remains elusive
The Center for Public Integrity by Nora Fleming, May 16, 2024: Newsrooms in nine states reported on disparities in mental health treatment and efforts in some states to improve access. In recent years, mental health care has become a mainstream issue. President Biden proposed an expansion of services nationwide. Lawmakers…
You Report an Unhoused Person in a Mental Health Crisis. This Is What Happens Next
San Francisco Public Press by Madison Alvarado and Yesica Prado, May 7, 2024: Myriad city teams respond to people in severe distress, who are often homeless and return to the streets after receiving services. In San Francisco, it is not uncommon to cross paths with a person experiencing homelessness in…
The Often Vicious Cycle Through SF’s Strained Mental Health Care and Detention System
San Francisco Public Press by Madison Alvarado and Yesica Prado, May 6, 2024: Dispatchers received at least 24,000 calls about mental health crises last year. Often, responders couldn’t find the people in distress. On a windy day last fall, a slender man stood on a corner of the bustling intersection…
Deadly Failure: A Sailor Was in Crisis. Her Command Kept the Pressure on Anyway
Voice of San Diego by Will Huntsberry, April 2, 2024: March 6, 2018, was another mild and sunny day in San Diego. Petty Officer 2nd Class Tiara Gray, who was 21 years old, was somewhere off the coast, onboard the USS Essex, writing in her journal. It was 27 days…
She called the number on her syllabus offering counseling. No one picked up.
WBEZ by Lisa Kurian Philip, March 21, 2024: Isabelle Dizon describes her transition to college as “messy.” She went from a public high school to a private art school that was far less diverse and cost too much, she said. The expense was stressful and she couldn’t connect with her…
High need, low accessibility: Oglethorpe County residents face barriers to mental health care, even as teens and schools are willing to have the conversation
The Oglethorpe Echo/the Cox Institute’s Journalism Writing Lab at the University of Georgia by Navya Shukla and Sydney Rainwater, March 21, 2024: Sonja Thompson Roach remembers the moment last year when a photographer took photos and interviewed her son and his friends for a Time magazine story on mental health…
For many Black sickle cell patients, care must reach deeper
The Daily Memphian, by Aisling Mäki March 5, 2024: In Memphis, Black patients with an inherited blood disorder carry trauma from the dismissal of their chronic pain and severity of symptoms. “Sickle cell is a very aggressive, traumatizing and difficult disease to live with,” said April Ward-McGrory, 42, a lifelong…
State leaders misled public about scope of Medicaid fraud crisis
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting by Hannah Bassett, March 14, 2024: In the 10 months since Arizona officials announced an investigation into massive Medicaid billing fraud, they’ve maintained the abuse was mostly limited to a small share of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System: behavioral health providers that exploited the…
Mental health issues complicate treatment for sickle cell patients
The Daily Memphian, by Aisling Mäki March 5, 2024: April Ward-McGrory is a sickle cell patient, double amputee and advocate for those living with sickle cell disease.Black patients in Memphis with sickle cell disease often report being misdiagnosed or treated as drug seekers when they show up in emergency rooms…
When children are rushed to the hospital in Memphis, trauma counselors are there waiting for them
The Institute for Public Service Reporting, by David Waters, March 6, 2024: An errant bullet fired from a street in South Memphis last year hit 16-year-old Evan sitting inside his home watching TV. The bullet tore a hole through his arm and leg. Instantly, before anyone could call 911 —…
Oklahoma sends a growing number of kids with complex needs out of state for treatment
The Frontier, by Kayla Branch, February 5, 2024: The state lacks options for kids with developmental disabilities and mental health needs. Oklahoma spent more than $5 million to send 49 kids out of state for treatment in the past year. Amber Boyer spent early mornings last spring crawling out of…
Poor access to mental health care leaves Georgia children who need a psychiatrist in the lurch
Georgia Public Broadcasting by Ellen Eldridge, January 22, 2024: When Layken Edenfield was little, her moods would switch quickly, her mother, Teresa Edenfield remembers. “One minute she’d be happy and laughing, and the next minute she’d be crying her eyes out,” Edenfield said. “She was really hypersensitive about certain things…
Arizona’s anti-immigrant policies foster a culture of fear and create barriers to mental health care for undocumented communities
Cronkite News by John Leos, January 16, 2024: Ileana Salinas has to renew her immigration status this year. If she misses the deadline or doesn’t get approved, she doesn’t know what will happen to her job, her family, or her life in the United States. Living each day in survival…
Alcohol addiction treatment is available in Colorado, but people struggle to get the help they need
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: Some people with addiction face insurance hurdles, unaware of options beyond AA or rehab. Warren Musselman credits his post-alcohol life to two things: finally finding a program that offered counseling he could connect with, and deciding he just couldn’t suffer through…
Beer and wine became more widely available in Colorado even as drinking deaths rose
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: Alcohol is socially acceptable and can be hard to avoid for people in recovery. Five years ago, a workgroup tasked with finding ways to reduce Colorado’s rate of drinking-related deaths — among the highest in the country — issued a simple…
Colorado has some of the lowest alcohol taxes and highest drinking deaths. That’s no coincidence, experts say.
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: Researchers say higher prices can be effective in reducing alcohol consumption. Colorado’s taxes on alcohol are among the lowest in the country, and even though the state consistently ranks as one of the worst for drinking deaths, lawmakers have shown little interest…
Colorado alcohol deaths surged 60% in 4 years, but there’s been no public outcry or push to save lives
The Denver Post by Meg Wingerter, January 4, 2024: When fentanyl deaths spiked, the state responded. When alcohol deaths did the same, Colorado was silent. Fatal drug overdoses had been slowly rising for a decade, but when the number of Coloradans killed by fentanyl soared during the first two years…
Press Releases
The Carter Center Awards Two Irish Journalists Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
The Center will train fellows on accurate and effective mental health reporting and provide access to mental health experts ATLANTA (July 21, 2023) — The Carter Center is pleased to announce that Ă“rla Ryan of The Journal, working with its investigative platform Noteworthy, and Shauna Bowers of The Irish Times…
The Carter Center Awards 9 U.S. Journalists Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
The Center will train fellows on accurate and effective mental health reporting and provide access to mental health experts ATLANTA (July 12, 2023) — The Carter Center is pleased to announce nine U.S. recipients of the 2023-2024 Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. The group includes award-winning freelancers, staff…
The Carter Center Awards 9 U.S. Journalists Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
The Center will train fellows on accurate and effective mental health reporting and provide access to mental health experts ATLANTA (July 14, 2022) — The Carter Center is pleased to announce nine U.S. recipients of the 2022-2023 Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. The group includes freelancers, staff reporters,…
Applications
Apply for a mental health journalism fellowship in the UAE
Rosalynn Carter fellowships are a year-long, non-residential program providing training, support and mentorship to two journalists The United Arab Emirates program for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism is now accepting applications for its 2021-22 intake of two journalists. Interested candidates have until May 27 to apply. It…
Applications open for Latin American 2020-2021 Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
The Carter Center and the University of La Sabana, in association with the Gabo Foundation, are now accepting 2020-2021 applications for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism in Latin America. Bogotá, Colombia — Applications are now open for two fellowships for Latin American journalists who investigate and produce…
Applications open for UAE’s 2020-21 Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
The fellowship program aims to develop a diverse cohort of journalists who effectively report on behavioral health. Applications will be accepted until the end of April. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism UAE program is accepting applications for its 2020-21 intake of two…
Topics
Resources For Journalists
Supporting Journalists Efforts In Mental Health Journalism
The Carter Center Journalism Resource Guide on Behavioral Health (pdf) supports journalists’ efforts to report accurately and effectively behavioral health issues, including addiction and substance use, in ways that do not reinforce stereotypes and stigma.