Research concerning media portrayals of mental illnesses and the effects such portrayals might have on the public has usually been carried out within one country as a geographical limit. Herein, we analyse the results of the research carried out through the analysis of newspapers in 5 different disperse countries around the world in the last decade; England, Canada, Portugal, Spain and Japan. Some of these countries have started national campaigns to reduce the stigmatisation of these conditions, including a focused awareness on Mental Health communication in media. Despite the heterogenicity of the societies studied and the different measures adopted, there is still a negative portrayal of mental illnesses in newspapers, which contributes to the ongoing mental illness stigmatisation. Other media also showed similar results. Moreover, this review intends to give a general vision on how research in this area is carried out and propose a reflection on how it should be pursued.