Today, in the garden of Erenköy Mental and Neurological Diseases Training and Research Hospital, I came across a sculpture called “A Touch of Hope.” According to the hospital’s official history, the sculpture was created by Seval Alp and Hayati Çil and was unveiled in 2008. Beside the sculpture are the following four lines:
“Our souls touch your hearts
Your smiles share our sorrow
The wheel turns, and our places change
In truth, we are you, and you are us.”
At first glance, these lines may appear to be a poetic expression of hope, solidarity, and mutual understanding. Yet when considered within the historical and social context of mental health, they point to a much more fundamental question: How definite are the boundaries we draw between people living with mental illness and the rest of society?
For many years, mental illnesses have often been understood through oppositions such as “normal–abnormal” and “healthy–ill.” This categorical perspective can cause a psychiatric diagnosis to overshadow a person’s personality, life story, and social identity. Stigma emerges precisely at this point: the individual is no longer seen as a multidimensional person who happens to experience psychological difficulties, but is instead reduced to a diagnosis.
Studies conducted in Türkiye have shown that beliefs associating mental illness with dangerousness, weakness, and impaired social functioning may contribute to stigmatizing attitudes. A systematic review by Çam and Bilge, examining research conducted in Türkiye, similarly draws attention to the persistence of negative attitudes toward mental illness both in society and among healthcare professionals.
“Our souls touch your hearts”
The first line brings to mind the concepts of contact and empathy in the field of mental health. Stigma often becomes stronger with distance. When people have direct and meaningful contact with individuals living with mental illness, it becomes easier to see that a person cannot be reduced to a diagnosis. A meta-analysis by Corrigan and colleagues suggests that contact-based interventions, particularly those involving direct contact, may help reduce prejudice and social distance toward people with mental illness.
The phrase “touch your hearts” can therefore be understood not merely as emotional closeness, but also as a willingness to stop treating another person’s experience as something foreign or alien. Engaging with a person’s story, relationships, losses, and recovery experiences can transform a perspective that otherwise sees them only through the lens of symptoms.
“Your smiles share our sorrow”
The second line draws attention to the social and relational dimensions of recovery. Recovery in mental health does not simply mean a reduction in symptoms. Rebuilding relationships, feeling accepted, participating in social life, and regaining a sense of agency over one’s own life are also important elements of the recovery process.
In this context, the “smile” should not be interpreted as a superficial suggestion that psychological problems can be solved through positive thinking. Rather, it can be seen as a symbol of human connection and emotional presence. Even when we cannot eliminate another person’s pain, we can witness it and avoid leaving them alone with their suffering.
Research on internalized stigma also highlights the importance of this dimension. When individuals begin to direct society’s negative judgments toward themselves, their self-esteem, social participation, and hope for recovery may be adversely affected. Therefore, alongside psychological support, an accepting and inclusive social environment also plays an important role in recovery.
“The wheel turns, and our places change”
The third line invites us to think about mental health not through fixed categories, but as existing on a continuum. Rather than assuming that there is a permanent and unbridgeable boundary between mental health and mental illness, the continuum perspective acknowledges that individuals may experience different levels of psychological difficulty at different points throughout their lives.
A systematic review and meta-analysis by Peter and colleagues found that beliefs in a continuum between mental health and mental illness may be associated with lower levels of stigma and a reduced desire for social distance.
From this perspective, the line “The wheel turns, and our places change” also carries an existential meaning. Our positions in life are not fixed. At times we may feel strong, while at others we may become vulnerable; sometimes we are the ones offering support, and sometimes we are the ones who need it. Psychological distress is not an experience that belongs exclusively to a particular group, but a possibility that can emerge in different forms and at different stages of human life.
“In truth, we are you, and you are us”
The final line seems to bring the entire message of the sculpture together in a single sentence. One of the most powerful consequences of stigma is the tendency to place people living with mental illness into a separate social category. Such divisions can increase social distance and may contribute to discrimination in areas including education, employment, relationships, and access to healthcare.
The 2022 Lancet Commission on stigma and discrimination in mental health likewise approaches stigma not merely as a matter of individual prejudice, but as a multidimensional issue that affects people’s rights, social participation, and life opportunities. For this reason, the statement “In truth, we are you, and you are us” can be read not only as a call for empathy, but also as a reminder that psychiatric diagnoses do not transform people into a fundamentally different category of human being.
When Art Says What Words Cannot
One of the elements that makes “A Touch of Hope” particularly meaningful is that its message is communicated not through a textbook, an informational brochure, or a clinical definition, but through art.
Art can create space for complex and sometimes abstract experiences related to mental health to be understood at an emotional level. Research examining arts-based interventions aimed at reducing mental health stigma also suggests that such approaches may have positive effects on certain stigmatizing attitudes. At the same time, current findings indicate that art should not be regarded as a tool that can eliminate stigma on its own, but rather as a medium that can facilitate reflection and meaningful encounters.
Perhaps this is exactly where the power of “A Touch of Hope” lies: rather than offering a definitive answer, it poses a question to the person standing before it.
When we encounter someone living with mental illness, do we see the diagnosis first, or the person?
These four lines, placed in the garden of a psychiatric hospital, invite us to rethink mental health not only in terms of clinical symptoms, but also through relationships, social acceptance, vulnerability, and the shared experience of being human.
“The wheel turns, and our places change.”
Our roles may change, our life circumstances may change, and our psychological resilience may shift over time. Yet beneath all of these changes, something remains shared: the experience of being human.
Perhaps this is precisely what gives the final line of the sculpture its power: “In truth, we are you, and you are us.”
Kaynakça
- Çam, O., & Bilge, A. (2013). Türkiye’de ruhsal hastalığa/hastaya yönelik inanç, tutum ve damgalama süreci: Sistematik derleme. Psikiyatri Hemşireliği Dergisi, 4(2), 91–101. https://doi.org/10.5505/phd.2013.92300
- Çam, O., & Çuhadar, D. (2011). Ruhsal hastalığa sahip bireylerde damgalama süreci ve içselleştirilmiş damgalama. Psikiyatri Hemşireliği Dergisi, 2(3), 136–140.
- Corrigan, P. W., Morris, S. B., Michaels, P. J., Rafacz, J. D., & Rüsch, N. (2012). Challenging the public stigma of mental illness: A meta-analysis of outcome studies. Psychiatric Services, 63(10), 963–973. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100529
- Erenköy Ruh ve Sinir Hastalıkları Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi. (2025, August 25). Tarihçe. T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı.
- Gaiha, S. M., Salisbury, T. T., Usmani, S., Koschorke, M., Raman, U., & Petticrew, M. (2021). Effectiveness of arts interventions to reduce mental-health-related stigma among youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 21, Article 364. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03350-8
- Leamy, M., Bird, V., Le Boutillier, C., Williams, J., & Slade, M. (2011). Conceptual framework for personal recovery in mental health: Systematic review and narrative synthesis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 199(6), 445–452. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.110.083733
- Peter, L.-J., Schindler, S., Sander, C., Schmidt, S., Muehlan, H., McLaren, T., Tomczyk, S., Speerforck, S., & Schomerus, G. (2021). Continuum beliefs and mental illness stigma: A systematic review and meta-analysis of correlation and intervention studies. Psychological Medicine, 51(5), 716–726. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291721000854 Thornicroft, G., Sunkel, C., Alikhon Aliev, A., Baker, S., Brohan, E., El Chammay, R., Davies, K., Demissie, M., Duncan, J., Fekadu, W., Gronholm, P. C., Guerrero, Z., Gurung, D., Habtamu, K., Hanlon, C., Heim, E., Henderson, C., Hijazi, Z., Hoffman, C., . . . Winkler, P. (2022). The Lancet Commission on ending stigma and discrimination in mental health. The Lancet, 400(10361), 1438–1480. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01470-2