A Conversation about Mental Health Stigma: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About It
| Mental health stigma is an area of substantial public health importance. Although many people have grown more comfortable disclosing their mental health struggles in recent years, negative views of people with serious mental health challenges persist that continue to associate those challenges with violence, incompetence and inability to recover. These negative perceptions can be internalized by people with mental health challenges in the form of self-stigma, which can heighten shame, undermine self-esteem, and impact self-efficacy. Research has shown that the effects of mental health stigma have an impact above and beyond that of symptoms. This suggests that for many people the effects of mental health stigma can be worse than the mental health challenges themselves. |
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Check out this Mental Health Moment with Dr. Phil Yanos, a noted researcher on stigma, who shares his insights on the topic of mental health stigma with a focus on self-stigma. With many national conversations and controversies regarding mental health, Dr. Yanos helps to clarify why this is a particularly important time for behavioral health organizations and providers to implement strategies and interventions to reduce mental health stigma. He also talks about Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy (NECT), an intervention he co-developed that focuses on reducing self-stigma.