Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Dart Center Receives Grant for Trainings on Mental Health

By Kate Black

The Thomas Scattergood Foundation for Behavioral Health awarded the Dart Center with a grant to conduct workshops in the Philadelphia area to improve coverage of mental health issues. More »

Former First Lady Expects More from Mental Health Care

By Tanya Paperny

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter is frustrated and angry. At a forum and panel conversation held on Monday, May 3, she insisted that our country's current mental health system is broken, despite the $120 billion dollars our federal government spends annually on direct mental health care. More »

Beyond the Breaking Point

By Judith Matloff and Robert Nickelsberg

Caught between military occupation and separatist terrorism, a society that doesn't talk about mental health is desperate for psychiatrists, faith healers, medication — anything that could help heal "one of the most traumatized places on earth." A multimedia exclusive.

Covering Two Catastrophes

Resources for Journalists

For those reporting on the natural disasters in China and Myanmar, the Dart Center has assembled tip sheets, advice and reflection from journalists on past catastrophes and other resources of relevance.

How News is "Framed"

By Sara Tiegreen and Elana Newman

An overview of how news stories, traumatic and otherwise, are "framed," finding a general absence of context and recommending avenues for future research.

Military Psychiatric Screening Lags

In the Hartford Courant, Matthew Kauffman and Lisa Chedekel report that, despite the Pentagon’s promises to the contrary, the military continues to refer a far smaller proportion of troops to mental-health professionals than actually have mental-health problems. More »

"Without a Scratch"

Washington Post reporters Anne Hull and Dana Priest have continued their investigation of Walter Reed Army Medical Center by focusing on the Army's care for soldier's suffering from PTSD and other mental health problems. More »

Natural Disaster and Mental Health Issues

By Alexander McFarlane

Guidance from an experienced psychiatrist on mental health issues and how they evolve in regions devastated by natural disasters.

'Unprecedented' Report Examines War Effects

Mental-Health Stigma May Keep Sufferers from Seeking Help

By Jesse Tarbert

About one out of six veterans (15.6 to 17.1 percent) returning from Iraq met criteria for combat-related psychiatric disorders, including depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, researchers say in a report published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Suicide Coverage Can Amplify Problem

By Sherry Ricchiardi

A national panel of experts in suicide, behavioral science and the media cautions and advises journalists on how to report this sensitive subject.

Mental Anguish, Injustice & the Military

By Daniel Zwerdling and Anne Hawke

In late 2006, Daniel Zwerdling reported for NPR on soldiers being punished, instead of treated, for having mental health problems. His groundbreaking reports led to investigation by the Senate, Pentagon and Government Accountability Office and widespread promises of reform.

Suicide and Depression

What Journalists Should Know

By Frank Ochberg

Clinical psychiatrist and trauma expert Frank Ochberg discusses medical aspects of depression and suicide.

Mentally Unfit, Forced to Fight

By Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kaufman

The U.S. military is sending troops with serious psychological problems into Iraq and is keeping soldiers in combat even after superiors have been alerted to suicide warnings and other signs of mental illness, a Courant investigation has found. Originally published in the Hartford Courant, May 2006.