
The Mental Health Reporting Project
Acquire tools and strategies to produce more nuanced and impactful coverage in our self-directed course.
Approach with dignity. Support with empathy. Report with accuracy.
A lot is at stake with this story: A teenager who attempted suicide. An unhoused person living with schizophrenia. A survivor in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event.
How do you approach them? How do you ensure their stories are portrayed accurately? How do you avoid causing additional harm?
Thoughtful coverage that safeguards both sources and reporters demands insight, practice, and critical techniques, and it’s not something most journalists learn in school or on the job.
Poynter is proud to partner with The Carter Center to bring you an inclusive hub for mental health journalism, generously supported by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF).
Our goal for this pioneering program is to empower journalists with up-to-date tools and ethical practices to minimize harm and advance understanding, awareness and acceptance of mental illness.
The inaugural 2025 initiative equips you with essential, free-of-charge resources: a comprehensive curriculum, expert-authored content, and webinars featuring journalists doing the work.
Scroll below to enjoy these offerings, explore our FAQ and get to know our instructors. Stay tuned for more, coming throughout this year and beyond.
Questions?
If you need assistance, email us at info@poynter.org.
Acquire tools and strategies to produce more nuanced and impactful coverage in our self-directed course.
Are you looking to provide your newsroom with an individualized program?
Gain techniques for interviewing vulnerable sources with sensitivity while producing compelling stories.
A year ago, I dove into mental health reporting and felt overwhelmed. The systems seemed convoluted — and that’s not just a feeling, it’s fact.
It publishes at a time when the levels of stress and pressure faced by many of our colleagues need to be taken far more seriously than they have been
An upcoming Poynter/CDC webinar will empower reporters to dive into death and morbidity databases for nuanced storytelling
Stressed, burnt out and sick of therapists who didn't understand them, San Francisco Chronicle journalists asked for help — and got it.
We have a comprehensive, ready-made course — The Mental Health Reporting Project — that provides round-the-clock guidance on best practices for covering stories that involve mental health.
What’s more, three webinars exploring specific topics in mental health journalism will air live throughout 2025. The first webinar, Covering Vulnerable Sources, will air on May 20, 2025, 1 – 2 p.m. EST. A replay will be available after the webinar airs. Three more webinars will air throughout 2026.
Additionally, you can expect articles from our subject matter experts and resources posted to this hub and our social networks.
Everything under the umbrella of The Mental Health Reporting Project is free of charge due to the generous support of our sponsor, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF).
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness. Even if you are not covering the mental health beat, mental health lies at the intersection of every beat in journalism.