Abstract: Bad to Be Sad and Mad? A Narrative Analysis of Five Major Mental Health Storylines in Grey’s Anatomy

◆ Yuren Ji, University at Buffalo, SUNY
◆ Hua Wang, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Stories have the incredible power to take people places where they have not been and facilitate positive changes that benefit our society (Singhal et al., 2013). Popular entertainment media are increasingly used to address taboo topics such as mental health disorders (McMahon-Coleman & Weaver, 2020). Centered around hospitals and health professionals, medical dramas are uniquely positioned to tell life-saving and norm-shifting stories when well written. They can provide a useful platform for health education and promotion, reaching millions of viewers while raising awareness of various medical conditions including mental illness as well as helping reduce stigma (Hoffman et al., 2023). For example, a recent study showed that viewers identified more with less stigmatized characters, and greater character identification was associated with less stigmatizing attitudes and more prosocial behavioral intentions towards individuals with mental illness (Medero & Hovick, 2023). Guided by mediated contact theory and the health stigma and discrimination framework, we examined five major mental health storylines in Grey's Anatomy. An ABC original series and now streaming on popular platforms such as Netflix and Hulu, Grey's Anatomy is one of the world’s longest-running primetime medical drama on television with numerous accolades for both outstanding performance and socially-conscious creative writing. The mediated contact theory posits that exposure to positive portrayal through media representation and social interactions between members of different groups can foster intergroup communication, improve mutual understanding, and reduce biases and prejudice via mechanisms such as vicarious and parasocial contact with television characters (Harwood, 2017). That means healthy viewers of Grey’s Anatomy can learn from characters with mental illness by watching their stories in the show if the medical information is accurate and they are not portrayed in a stigmatizing manner. However, not all such mediated contact is equal in its power of influence. Therefore, our selection criteria included only major storylines driven by a main character across multiple episodes, which led to (1) Dr. Owen Hunt’s post-traumatic stress disorder storyline, (2) Dr. Richard Webber’s alcohol-related substance disorder storyline, (3) Dr. Miranda Bailey’s obsessive compulsive disorder storyline, (4) Dr. Jo Karev’s major depression storyline, and (5) Dr. Andrew DeLuca’s bipolar storyline. We adopted a qualitative approach by conducting a narrative analysis (Allen, 2017; Freytag & Ramasubramanian, 2019; Wang & Parris, 2021) to delve into the nuances of these portrayals. We referenced the American Psychiatric Association’s (2022) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) when assessing medical information about the definitions, symptoms, and treatments for each condition. We then used the health stigma and discrimination framework (Stangl et al., 2019), especially its illustration on mental health, to guide our assessment of drivers, facilitators, manifestations, and outcomes of stigma-related portrayals. Our preliminary findings show that these five major mental health storylines are mostly accurate and counter-stereotypical that can increase knowledge, reduce stigma, and promote social support and help seeking behaviors. They covered the breadth, depth, and complexity of people living with mental disorders and still have room for further improvement.