We do not call for censorship, but we warn the public that the show's frequent message that treatment does not work may hurt and create emotional turmoil in people who struggle with mental illnesses and discourage people from seeking or continuing needed treatment. We emphasize that Wonderland is not alone in its impact. It represents an alarming pattern in the entertainment industry, broken only occasionally by a very few enlightened movies or shows. We call on the newly organized National Mental Health Awareness Campaign, the bipartisan public-private foundation which emerged from last year's White House Conference on Mental Health, to lead an immediate effort to challenge the stigmatization of mental illness by the entertainment industry. We also call on the White House to use its influence with the industry, as it has with its anti-drug campaign, to reinforce the positive messages of our community.
Mental illnesses are real, common, and treatable.
New treatments have revolutionized mental health care in communities. Even people with the most severe mental illnesses can and do recover. There is help. There is hope.