Neuroscience in the Media: Facilitator’s Guide

Serve as Ambassadors of Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Popular media is saturated with stories about psychiatry and psychiatric illness (which, unfortunately, are all too often infused with stigma towards our field and towards the patients we treat). As psychiatrists, we have all had the experience of being approached by a friend at a party — or by a patient or a family member in our clinic – who is eager to ask for our opinion on the latest media story. Being able to thoughtfully field these questions is a core professional skill.

To this end, we have developed the “Neuroscience in the Media” module. The overall goal of this course is that residents will be able to serve as ambassadors of psychiatry and neuroscience who can thoughtfully communicate findings from the field to a lay audience.