Appleby: stigma of mental illness has no place in society

The stigma of mental illness, like racism, has “no place in a civilised society” the government’s mental health tsar told a conference in Manchester today.

National director for mental health Louis Appleby told the international conference on mental health discrimination it had long been recognised that racism was unacceptable but “unthinking discrimination against people with mental health problems still seems to be socially acceptable”.

“It is high time that society caught up and realised that it is not okay to be prejudiced against people with mental health problems,” he added.

Appleby said afterwards his speech was a signal that tackling stigma was going to be one of the key themes in the government’s mental health strategy over the next few years, together with tackling race inequality and promoting talking therapies.