10 Common Myths about Mental Illness

8. Children can’t have serious mental disorders.

9. Doctor/patient confidentiality is absolute and always protected.

10. Mental illness is no longer stigmatized in society.

clipped from psychcentral.com Top 10 Myths of Mental Illness by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. June 13, 2008 clipped from psychcentral.com 1. Mental illness is just like a medical disease. Many mental health experts believe in the “bio-psycho-social” model of mental disorders. That is, there are multiple, connected components of most people’s mental illness that include three distinct, yet connected, spheres: (1) the biological and our genetics; (2) the psychological and our personalities; and (3) the social and our environment. All three seem to play an important role in most people’s development of a mental disorder. 2. Medications are the only treatment you need to treat a mental illness. 3. If a medication or psychotherapy doesn’t work, that means your situation is hopeless. 4. Therapists don’t care about you – they only pretend to care because you pay them. 5. If it isn’t serious, it can’t hurt you. clipped from psychcentral.com 6. Psychology and psychiatry aren’t “real sciences.” They’re supported only by fuzzy research and contradictory findings. 7. Mental illness is a myth,