While watching a well-known, popular soap on the BBC recently, I was disgusted to hear one of the characters with recently diagnosed bipolar affective disorder being referred to by another character as a ‘mentalist’.

Both entertainment and news media seem to model negative reactions to the mentally ill, including fear, rejection, derision and ridicule. The consequences of negative media images for people who have a mental illness are profound. They impair self-esteem, help-seeking behaviours, medication adherence and overall recovery. ^{Reference Stuart1} The Royal College of Psychiatrists, healthcare professionals working in mental health and mental health charities such as Mind and Rethink work hard to challenge the stigma and negative attitudes towards mental illness. How disappointing therefore that the scriptwriters of this soap, a programme watched by millions of viewers, see fit to contradict these efforts by using such a derogatory term to describe someone with bipolar affective disorder.

Negative media reports have been shown to contribute to negative attitudes towards people with mental illness. ^{Reference Thornton and Wahl2} As adults, we have the presence of mind and sound judgement to recognise that the use of the term ‘mentalist’ is both socially unacceptable and insulting. But the minds of the younger generation are more impressionable. We do not want children thinking it is all right to describe someone with mental illness as ‘a mentalist’ because they have heard the term used on the television and come to believe it must be acceptable to use in everyday life. The writers of television programmes watched by both young and old alike have an important role to play in ‘shaping the minds’ of the youngsters of today. They should seek to show mental illness in a positive rather than negative light and thus help to eradicate rather than contribute to its stigmatisation.