Stigma In Therapy

the decision to seek help is more likely when the mental health problem is undesirable and cannot go away by its own. Stigmas play a major part of deciding not to get the treatment that they need.

As previously mentioned there is also always opportunities to seek help and advice form a therapist. Although these treatment methods seem so easily accessible, the stigma causes people with the mental illness to have a negative outlook on themselves and makes them think that they are not going to get any better no matter how hard they try. This stigma can also make them lose motivation to try to get better (Patrick W.

Implementing a strategy of positive psychology can be much more complicated after diagnosing a patient, due to often newfound pessimism. Certain diagnoses also contradict principles in specific branches of psychology. For instance, schizotypal personality disorder, is defined by the DSM-V as, “A pattern of acute discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behavior”. Under the concept of humanistic psychology & phenomenology, how do we determine who has a distorted perception when perception is our own unique experiences? Associating behavior to the presence of a labelled mental disorder may allow for the opportunity for those behaviors to intensify or be taken more dramatically (like the aforementioned hysteria). When society rejects someone due to stigma this can formulate unintended consequences. Mental illness should be addressed, but if we want to effectively help alleviate disorders, society will need to be more open and welcoming. No longer should we allow distinctions to severely distance one person from

The aforementioned treatments of mental illness influence both public and self-stigma of mental illness today. David Vogel, Nathaniel Wade, and Shawn Haake, from Iowa State University, define public stigma as “the perception held by a group or society that an individual is socially unacceptable and often leads to negative reactions toward them. The public stigma associated with seeking mental health services, therefore, is the perception that a person who seeks psychological treatment is undesirable or socially unacceptable” (325). Psychologist Marty Manosevitz attributes the stigma of mental illness to the immoral ways that the mentally ill were once treated. He states, “The moment a mark of something different was found in person they were shoved into institutions and kept from the outside world. There was no understanding that mental illness could be cured, it was considered permanent.”

therapy is the least effective compared to others, with humanistic being at the bottom of the

I think I could have benefitted from using a few more skills. When Liz explained to me that she did not want to face stigmas and did not be the only decision maker in Abigail's life, I should have asked for concreteness (5:55). I left her hanging when I should have focused on clarifying the meaning of stigmas. I was not sure if she meant stigmas for herself or Abigail. When I tried to find concreteness as to address that she has a hard time opening up to others about Abigail's health I allowed the silence to steer the conversation in another direction (8:23). Instead, I should have I had her personalize her statements. I thought I stacked another question on top of it and touched on intervention and made the conversation not productive. There

ts our study of the stigma related to mental health illness. There is a lack of research investigating the portrayal of psychologists, those affected by mental illness and issues of mental health; this lack of research prevents any interventions from being made to protect those at risk. “With the continued portrayals of therapy in the media, it is important to consider how these images may affect attitudes and beliefs that can contribute to help seeking behavior”. (Maier, et al., 2013, p.1). Although there is research supporting that psychological and medical treatment are effective for a broad range of mental illnesses, only around 11% of those who have a diagnosable issue will seek help (Corrigan, 2004). The researchers of this article were interested in how the media portrayal of psychologists and mental illnesses impacts those who should seek therapy, through the formation of stigma. The hypothesis of the article study is formed around the idea that turning to a professional for help is not viewed as a sign of weakness when the psychologists are viewed as trustworthy and have experience.

As the therapist, it is our job to be curious and investigators because otherwise clients will not reveal enough. “Practitioners may find it helpful to ask questions informed by an awareness…” (Knudson-Martin & Mahoney, 2009, p. 59). By asking informed questions about how a client’s present “patterns of behavior” have been maintained, therapists can help them define what kind of relationships they want. Asking these educated questions, issues can become externalized and shown as an illustration of larger problems outside them and their control.

The research paper, “Psychological Treatments That May Cause Harm” written by Scott O. Lilienfeld examines treatments that either probably produce harm in some individuals or possibly produce harm in some individuals. Harm can caused in various ways, including worse or more symptoms occurring, excessive dependence on therapist, avoiding all therapies, and physical issues. The author notes that as mental health professionals, it is critical for patients’ wellbeing that the field actively challenges the idea that doing something is always better than doing nothing in therapy, because research has shown that this is not true. As there is no governing agency currently in place in the United States to decide what treatments can and cannot be administered,

The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients by Irvin D. Yalom could be described as a timeless book of tips for practicing therapists as well as patients. Dr. Yalom takes a very candid look at therapy from the viewpoint of the therapist while empathizing with the client. He has employed the use of common sense to a very complex field of study to aid in the enhancement of his beloved craft.

With that being said, anti-stigma programs have been developed to enhance the understandings of those labeled as mentally ill. The anti-stigma programs are aimed at both specific target groups and the general public (Henderson, 2013), to provide individuals with an opportunity to become knowledgeable and experienced with mental health (Corrigan, 2007a). Two messages that these programs address are for the public to stop reporting misrepresentations of mental illness, and for individuals to stop believing the negative views of mental illness (Corrigan & Watson, 2002). By addressing the concern of stigma, the programs also use the medical model as discussed in lecture on mental health (Savelli, 2016), to persuade the public that having a mental

There are people that become embarrassed by their psychological disorder or abnormal behavior and refuse to receive help because they are afraid of what society and even their family may think of them. Therefore, they do not seek the professional help that they need to be diagnosed properly for the disorder or to be treated properly for the psychological disorder that they may or may not have.

W., & Bink, A.B. (2015). How does stigma impede adherence and self determination? In P.W. Corrigan, (Eds), Person-centered care for mental illness: The evolution of adherence and self-determination. (pp. 53-80). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. doi: 10.1037/14644-004.

These stigmatizing beliefs held by society were not developed from thin air, as there have been multiple factors contributing to this misrepresentation of mental illness. Firstly, it can be attributed to responses to mental illness in the past. In the past, mental health patients were treated using barbaric therapeutic regimes:

The stigma of mental illness has led many to suffer in silence. For those afflicted, acceptance or even treatment is too unrealistic of a notion to seek out the help they so desperately need and want. In the field of psychology, therapy is a way for experts and patients to collaborate, and over the course of their relationship, understand and eliminate problematic behaviors and thought processes that may be affecting their patient’s life. There are quite a few different approaches to therapy; common therapeutic approaches are humanistic, behavior, and cognitive therapies. For someone in need of a way to rectify a mental disorder or as a method of self-improvement, therapeutic assistance in any of these fields may be a boon.