Resources for Journalists Struggling with Trauma and Mental Health
Journalism is glamorized in the eyes of Hollywood movie producers as a profession home to a bunch of go-getters who care about nothing more than that hard-hitting story, proving their editors wrong, and other necessary sacrifices of truth for the sake of dramatic structure. But in reality, journalists are people. Their skill set gives them an important role in society, yes—but they are humans with just as fragile a psyche as anyone else.
The trouble is that journalists are often the target of political intimidation or violence. Even in countries with a high press freedom index, journalists still report some instances of violence or other harassment. On top of that, journalists in these spaces may need to cover truly horrific things, which can in turn take a greater toll on mental health.
So how exactly does this manifest? Scott Blanchard first became concerned after the events of Sandy Hook, when he was the enterprise editor at the York (PA) Daily Record. “They told us that no one had trained them for this,” Blanchard said of the journalists who returned, stricken from the event. And in the past few years, “COVID has affected everybody. At first, it took us all out of our newsrooms and away from each other. And now everybody has at least one story” regarding loved ones who died of COVID-19. One study found that following the COVID-19 pandemic, reporters covering the virus reported a higher frequency of symptoms linked to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression.
And while the collective trauma of COVID-19 is accessible to the average reader, journalists also find themselves in atypical, highly traumatic situations. Leona O'Neill, a Northern Irish journalist and journalism lecturer, was present at the shooting of Irish journalist Lyra Mckee in Derry in 2019. She told journalism.co.uk that following the murder, she was “on autopilot most of the time”:
“She was not able to talk about the murder she witnessed, not wanting to tap into that emotion. Even when she tried, she would just start to cry. So she found writing her chapter therapeutic as she was finally able to process the weight of that day's events.”
The good news is that there are plenty of options for journalists who are struggling, with several groups catered toward reporters of color—who have been disproportionately affected by a pandemic of police violence, gun violence, anti-Asian hate, and a slew of other traumatic events at the helm of America these past few years.
Below is a list of organizations with some excellent resources available.
Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund
International Journalists Network
Asian American Journalists Association
International Women’s Media Foundation Journalism Emergency Fund
Committee to Protect Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
If you or someone you know is struggling, do not hesitate to share or to reach out to one of these services.
