APA's popular “Let's Talk Facts” pamphlet series that educates the public about mental illnesses and mental health concerns has received a major renovation, and some of the brochures are now available.
Many of the pamphlets describe, in lay terms, the causes, symptoms, and treatments for most of the more commonly encountered psychiatric disorders. Others shed light on topics such as domestic violence, HIV infection and AIDS, the growing crisis of incarcerating mentally ill people in jails and prisons, and how to choose a psychiatrist.
The series was first introduced in the late 1990s, and its updated texts reflect advances in the understanding of and treatments for the wide range of illnesses covered.
The pamphlets were also given an external overhaul—they now have a contemporary, cohesive look, which includes a new APA logo designed for the recently launched “Healthy Minds. Healthy Lives” public-education campaign and a more readable typeface.
The pamphlet on depression, for example, gives a brief introduction to the illness, emphasizing that it is a “serious medical condition.” It then lists seven prominent symptoms and describes the differences between sadness and the illness of depression. A new section explains postpartum depression.
The two other topics discussed are the causes of depression and how medications and psychotherapy—also identified as “talk therapy”—are used to treat the disorder. Readers are also told that when depression is suspected, it is crucial that a psychiatrist conduct a thorough diagnostic evaluation that may include a physical examination.
Staff of APA's Office of Communications and Public Affairs assembled teams of four or five APA members and staff who are experts in each topic area to review the existing pamphlets and recommend changes.
The following is a list of the pamphlets in the “Let's Talk Facts” series, which are being reissued in two waves. These are the topics of the first group, scheduled to be available this month:
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Common Childhood Disorders
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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
These are the topics of the second group, which will be published later this year:
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
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Depression in African Americans
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Mental Health of the Elderly
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Seasonal Affective Disorder
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Incarceration of the Mentally Ill
Four of the topics are new to the “Let's Talk Facts” series. They are “Depression in African Americans,” “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” “Domestic Violence,” and“ Incarceration of the Mentally Ill.”
After the first set of revised pamphlets has been printed, each APA district branch and state association will be sent 50 sets.
