Do media reports perpetuate the negative stereotypes surrounding mental illness?

For many, a mental illness — like schizophrenia — is a part of life that, with proper monitoring and treatment, doesn’t have to be devastating.

But most accounts we see in the media, like the recent family murders in Upper Merion, portray illnesses like schizophrenia as predominantly violent conditions. WHYY Health & Science reporter Makien Scott talked to a mental illness researcher about the perception of these disorders, and to a mother who copes with her grown son’s schizophrenia.