Symptom Media has emerged as a leader in academia and mental health education because of its unique approach to teaching continuing education for mental health practitioners and other interested individuals. The company offers an online continuing education course collection and a film library to its subscribers.
The film library gives viewers a look at mental health diagnoses with the goal of decreasing the stigma for those facing psychological issues. When one in every five Americans faces a mental health issue at least once in their life, the company's aims make sense.
The films use the Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5 (DSM-5) which is the book used by clinicians to make decisions about people suffering and how to treat them. They provide glimpses of people with issues ranging from Anorexia Nervosa, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bipolar I Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Suicidal Ideation.
In one film, there is someone being interviewed by a doctor because she has been taking a type of stimulant. She says, "Have you ever felt like you are dancing with butterflies?" to describe her experience with the drug. Another woman discusses her reaction to being sexually assaulted and why she does not like to be alone. She says that she is afraid to be alone because "it" could happen. She is crying and visibly shaken and won't say exactly what "it" is.
When it first launched, Symptom Media had over 200 films in its first volume. It has since released more films as part of its second volume which now numbers more than 600. They are produced by a "multidisciplinary team of behavioral health experts consisting of psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker and psychiatric nurse practitioner" who work with the company's filmmakers. This information is on their website which offers previews of some of its titles.
The company was founded by brothers Andrew and Matt Rubin "with the mission to fill a critical gap in mental health education" as the company's website reads. Symptom Media Chief Executive Officer, Matt Rubin, clarified the company's beginnings in an email. "The inception of Symptom Media took root when my brother Andrew, a filmmaker, Dr. Fidler, a professor of psychiatry and acting, and myself, an acquisitions executive at a film studio, saw a gap in mental health education that could be served through this unique collaboration between mental health professionals and filmmakers," he wrote.
Florida International University, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Arizona State University, and Brigham Young University are just some of the places that provide their students with access to the Symptom Media library of films. At FIU, the database is available for students and alumni to use on the campus library system with a library card number. At this time, a librarian said that the school does not offer off-campus access.
The films show actors talking to the camera as if they are meeting with a mental health provider about the particular diagnosis that the film is about. A highly distinguished psychiatric nurse practitioner Stephanie Arnold said on the Nurse Keith Show, a podcast for nurses, called Symptom Media's idea of using actors "innovative." The company also received recognition from the American Library Association's CHOICE magazine for American Libraries as an Outstanding Academic Title.
For more information about Symptom Media, their website can be viewed at www.symptommedia.com.
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