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Effects of a TV drama series upon public impressions about psychiatrists
1Independent Television Commission, London, UK.
Abstract:
A survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of over 2,800 UK television viewers to examine audience reactions towards a drama series about psychiatry. Whilst the majority of respondents agreed that the drama Shrinks was good entertainment and gave a realistic view of the field of psychiatry, those who reportedly had a close association with a mentally ill person were less likely to find the characterisations of the patients and psychiatrists credible. Despite the misgivings of practising psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, however, no evidence was found to support the idea that watching the drama resulted in misconceptions about the real world of psychiatric medicine.