Book Review: Stigma, Reducing the Stigma of Mental Illness: A Report from the Global Programme of the World Psychiatric Association

Stigma Reducing the Stigma of Mental Illness: A Report From the Global Programme of the World Psychiatric Association Norman Sartorius, Hugh Schulze. New York (NY): Cambridge University Press; 2005. 238 p. US$55.00 Reviewer rating: Excellent In 1996, the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) embarked on an ambitious project to tackle stigma and discrimination against mental patients in general and against patients with schizophrenia and their families, specifically. Although some programs and projects on this subject already existed, this was the most ambitious in its truly international focus. From its beginning, the Global Programme was crafted to be more than a multinational study on stigmatization and discrimination-it was to be a hands-on that respected national and site individualities and that encompassed the gamut of service providers, patients, their families, important community players, specific population target groups, and the community at large. Three pivotal decisions were made during the development of its organizational parameters. The first was to eschew prescribed formulas and obligatory activities dictated by the Central Steering Committee and allow each site to independently undertake whatever each Local Action Group felt necessary to deal with the problem in its own locality. This decentralization could have been a perfect plan for confusion, but instead, the freedom of action created a robust movement from which invaluable lessons have arisen. The second pivotal decision was to evaluate the progress of the actions implemented at each site against the Programme's impact on routine health programs and existing mental health programs. The third decision was ensure that individuals with schizophrenia and their carers felt the improvement, as measured by a diminution in the problems they experienced and improvement of their lives in their communities. Beginning with the pilot site in Calgary, Alberta, the program now extends to more than 20 countries and keeps growing. This book describes the conceptual parameters, implementation challenges, and lessons learned from the WPA Global Programme Against Stigma and Discrimination Because of Schizophrenia. Written by the Programme's scientific director, Norman Sartorius, and its communications consultant, Hugh Schulze, the book offers an in-depth look at the origins and accomplishments of this initiative. From their respective positions, Sartorius and Schulze are the best qualified and best positioned to tackle this writing. The book starts with an engaging and touching personal disclosure of psychotic symptoms that Sartorius experienced when, as a child, he endured extraordinary and life-threatening circumstances. …