Overcoming the Stigma that Unfairly Links Violence and Mental Illness

Excerpts from an article from VeryWellMind. By Taneasha White

Updated on March 02, 2021

Fact checked by Emily Swaim

Key Takeaways

• Unfairly connecting mental disorder and violence without evidence does a disservice to everyone navigating issues with mental health.

• Even when a given violent crime is attributable to the perpetrator's mental health condition, this should not be generalized to larger populations of people who are mostly nonviolent.

The Harvard Psychiatry Review recently released a special series focusing on the connections between mental health and violence. Historically, people dealing with psychiatric conditions have often been unfairly treated as dangerous, unstable, and violent. In short, the connection between mental health and violence is poorly understood, in a way that is too dismissive of people who are suffering…

Research shows that of the small percentage of people dealing with psychiatric disabilities who are arrested, a majority of offenses are minor and nonviolent, including trespassing and public intoxication.

When someone with a mental health disorder engages in violent behavior, there is a tendency to extrapolate that to other people with the same or similar disorders, ignoring the millions of people with a mental health condition who have never been violent. Sabrina Sarro, LMSW, says, “I've had a mixture of colleagues, clients, and folks in my life assume that certain diagnoses automatically imply or mean violence. This is inherently problematic and harmful as it perpetuates stigma in the overall conclusion that if someone exhibits certain symptoms of a specific diagnosis, that they are then predisposed or bound to commit or participate in violence." Sarro names bipolar disorder as one example: "Many clinicians do not want to work with patients who might fit the criteria...and call these folks 'difficult,' 'manipulative,' and 'dangerous.' " They say this can isolate and dehumanize people who need help with a complex disorder and further separate them in society…

Nekeshia Hammond, PsyD, says, “Some assumptions I have encountered surrounding mental health and violence are people will be violent if they are experiencing mental health distress. Another issue is the mentality that mental health conditions are 'all the same' or 'everyone will be violent.'"

Hammond notes that there are over 200 forms of mental health disorders, so diagnoses should not be broadly lumped together. "One in five US adults experience mental illness, so to overgeneralize that violence is linked to individuals who have a mental health [issue] is a disservice to individuals experiencing mental health concerns.”

Hammond says the vast majority of people with mental health problems are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. Individuals with serious mental illness are 10 times more likely to be survivors of violence as opposed to perpetrators.

Sarro says, “Linking violent behavior and mental illness can [itself] be violent and can impose incorrect and narrow-minded assumptions on folks with mental illness or who experience divergent mental experiences. Linking these two as an automatic fact takes away from the very real reality that not all folks who experience mental illness are violent or engage in violent behavior.”

Although the exact numbers vary by study, data suggest that only 3%-5% of violent crimes are connected to serious mental illness. Furthermore, when people with mental health issues do perpetrate crimes, often there are mediating factors such as poverty or substance abuse. For anyone looking to explain high crime rates in the U.S., mental health issues are no more to blame than any other factor.

“Sure, there are connections between mental illness and the potentiality for violence. A person experiencing psychosis might react violently if they are experiencing a break from reality and attempt to defend themselves," Sarro says. "A person who is experiencing a manic episode might have a delusion that causes them to react violently. This can happen and does, but we also need to critically analyze and assess who typically enacts violence on people and why.”

Rather than supporting the idea that those with psychiatric disabilities are inherently violent, these data underpin the idea that proper assistance and intervention are key to our overall societal health…

Violence can arise in anyone, regardless of their level of mental health, and researchers within these studies agree that violence itself is the issue that needs more research and attention. This research, alongside more considerate interventions for individuals with psychiatric disabilities, would result in more empathy and fewer biases around mental health issues.

To read the entire article, go to: verywellmind.com/overcoming-stigma-of-mental-illness-and-violence-5101229