Feds to Educate Entertainment Media on 'Appropriate Terminology' for Mental/Substance Use Disorders

The Department of Health and Human Services is looking to school the entertainment industry media when it comes to reporting on substance abuse and mental health disorders. In a notice posted this week on behalf of HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the agency indicates its desire to show the entertainment industry “how the use of language can affect the broader community as it relates to mental and/or substance use disorder issues.” SAMHSA intends to examine the “anatomy of current language that is used to refer to persons in recovery” by entertainment media and replace it with “appropriate terminology.”