Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Session Description: We all know the constructed narratives associated with substance use disorders (SUD) inadvertently result in implicit biases that can ultimately lead to inadequate treatment. At the root of narrative is an active blending of personal and cultural resources. Constructed narratives form once a culture or society upholds and maintains a particular version of reality until it takes hold. Jerome Bruner suggests narratives are not governed “by empirical verification and logical requiredness.” Media is the main source of constructed narratives and studies suggest media representations of mental illness often override firsthand personal experience. For example, constructed narratives associated with diagnoses made in childhood (anxiety, autism, ADHD) can highlight a benign innocence (helpless, guileless, artless) while conditions that usually manifest after early childhood (SUD, personality disorders or schizophrenia) are linked to negative constructed narratives (dishonest, manipulative, menacing). Presentation participants will discuss constructed narratives of substance use disorder and mental health conditions, how these narratives may intersect and the implicit biases that can result. The impact of race and socio-economic status will be also be addressed. The focus will be on the necessity of critical thinking when approaching diagnosing and treatment while considering how constructed narratives propagate systemic failures that can impact care.
Learning Objectives:
After this activity participants should be able to
Upon completion participant will be able to explore the positive and negative constructed narratives associated with various mental health conditions.
Upon completion participant will be able to analyze implicit biases that may result when constructed narratives of co-occurring substance use and other mental health diagnoses do or do not intersect.
Upon completion participant will be able to identify how constructed narratives can impact screening, diagnosis and treatment of dually diagnosed individuals.
