Resources For Journalists
A dynamic and thorough guide for mental health reporting
The Carter Center Journalism Resource Guide on Mental Health Reporting supports journalists' efforts to report accurately and effectively on mental health issues, including suicide and addiction and substance use, in ways that do not reinforce stereotypes or perpetuate stigma.
This up-to-date version, published in March 2024 with support from the the National Institute for Health Care Management, is available in both English and Spanish.
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The Carter Center's mental health journalism fellows have been reporting on the mental health impact of COVID-19. You’ll find here their reporting, mental health resources for journalists covering the pandemic and for the general public impacted by the virus.
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Search Rosalynn Carter Fellows past and present and browse their fellowship projects.
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Find training opportunities, key mental health organizations & centers, governmental resources, important publications, and more.
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Over the past two decades, more than 220 journalists from New Zealand, Romania, South Africa, and current participating countries have been awarded the highly-competitive fellowships.
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Under the leadership of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, a longtime champion for the rights of people with mental illnesses, the Carter Center's Mental Health Program works to promote awareness about mental health issues, inform public policy, achieve equity for mental health care comparable to other health care, and reduce stigma and discrimination against those with mental illnesses.
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From the National Child Traumatic Stress Network
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A journalist’s guide on what to write — and what not to — when covering child abuse
After researching studies on secondary victimization and news coverage of child abuse, and with input from child advocates, social workers and journalists, former journalist Sarah Welliver developed the Journalist’s Guide to Reporting on Child Abuse. Here are a few of the key takeaways.
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Reveal identified at least 300 treatment facilities in 44 states that required participants to work without pay or for pennies on the dollar, in likely violation of federal labor law. Look up work-based programs in your state.
Fellowship News
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…