Reliable Mental Health Information Sources

With just a few keystrokes, we now have access to more health and medical information than in any other time in history. Reliable medical information can help you become a more active participant in your own health care, so you can work with your doctor to make informed decisions that protect your health.

Unfortunately, not all information on the Internet is reliable, and this extends to mental health. Some websites post inaccurate or biased medical information. Others are not up to date. Anyone can post health information to the Web – medical professionals and non-experts alike. Choosing which websites to trust can be a challenge. What should you look for when evaluating the quality of health information on Web sites? Here are some suggestions from the MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.

When you first visit any website, consider the source. As a general rule, Web sites sponsored by Federal government agencies are reliable starting points. Be especially wary visiting online mental-health forums: Believing information or following advice posted by nonprofessionals regarding mental disorders and treatments can be dangerous.

Here are some starting places for credible online information about mental health and mental illnesses: 

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml

 

Find Youth Info

http://findyouthinfo.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health

 

MedlinePlus (U.S. Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mentalhealthandbehavior.html

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/

 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

http://www.samhsa.gov/

 

American Psychiatric Association

http://www.psychiatry.org/mental-health

 

American Psychological Association

http://www.apa.org/

 

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

http://www.aacap.org/

 

Mental Health America

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/

 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

http://www.nami.org/

 

The Kim Foundation

http://www.thekimfoundation.org/

 

Mayo Clinic

http://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-care-and-health-information

 

http://psychcentral.com/

 

Psychology Today

http://psychologytoday.com

 

Treatment Advocacy Center

http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/

 

WebMD – http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/default.htm

 

Health on the Net Foundation (provides Code of Conduct certification for medical and health websites)

http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Patients/Visitor/visitor.html