Language Matters—The ADS Center Announces Its Name Change
Effective immediately, SAMHSA's Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma has been re-named to SAMHSA's Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and, Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health. The Center will still go by the acronym, the ADS Center.
Why change the name? For many years, the ADS Center has promoted the use of language that lets people with mental illnesses be known for their skills, talents, and abilities, not for their diagnosis or "label." We’ve worked to change the way that media portrays people with mental illnesses, how providers refer to people with mental illnesses, and how individuals talk to and about people with mental illnesses.
Recently, we took a look at our own language use. We asked, “Does using the word ‘stigma’ lead to stigma?†and questioned whether words like “anti-stigma†have the potential to build a bias, where one did not exist. The ADS Center name change is a result of close inspection and reflection with a spectrum of stakeholders on these tough questions.
The ADS Center’s new name reflects a new approach: to promote a strengths-based vision, recognizing the importance of a caring, welcoming, and supportive community in helping to promote recovery and wellness for people with mental health problems. Reducing "stigma" will continue to be part of the ADS Center’s work but it is no longer enough. We must expand what we do to better serve individuals with mental illnesses and their families.
The work of the ADS Center is to foster dialogue and facilitate activities to promote full community participation by people with mental health problems. As such, we welcome comments from you on our name change. Drop us an e-mail at: stopstigma@samhsa.hhs.gov.
Please visit the ADS Center Web site at www.stopstigma.samhsa.gov for information and to join our listserv.
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May Is Mental Health Month
For more than fifty years, our country has celebrated Mental Health Month to raise awareness about mental illnesses and the importance of mental wellness for all. Sponsored by Mental Health America, Mental Health Month is a great time to share messages about mental health with your community.
Get Involved in Mental Health Month!
The ADS Center wants to help you get involved in Mental Health Month. Check out these Web sites for information and resources about mental health and how to reduce stigma associated with mental illnesses. You also may want to visit these Web sites for materials, ideas, and information:
- Depression and Bipolar Support AllianceÂ
- Half of UsÂ
- Mental Health AmericaÂ
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Pathways to Promise: Ministry and Mental Illness
- SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services
What are you doing for Mental Health Month?
The ADS Center wants to know what you’re doing for Mental Health Month! Send a description of your events and activities to us at stopstigma@shs.net. We hope to feature some of your stories during the month of May, so please let us hear from you now!
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