Experiences of stigma by association among family members of people with mental illness.

Sanden, Remko L. M. van der; Bos, Arjan E. R.; Stutterheim, Sarah E.; Pryor, John B.; Kok, Gerjo

doi:10.1037/a0031752

Cited by 67 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…They did not feel they were taken seriously, especially by family members. This finding is supported by van der Sanden et al [32] who described that family members of people with mental illness reported lower levels of perceived closeness to their ill relative than to extended family members. Moreover, participants felt discriminated by health care professionals and reported unfair treatment.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Barriers and facilitators of help-seeking among unemployed persons with mental health problems: a qualitative study

Staiger

Waldmann

Rüsch

et al. 2017

BMC Health Serv Res

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BackgroundUnemployed people with mental health problems often do not use mental health services and therefore do not benefit from available therapies. As unemployed individuals outside the healthcare system are a hard-to-reach group, barriers to and facilitators of mental health service use are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to and facilitators of help-seeking and service use based on experiences of unemployed people with mental health problems.MethodsFifteen qualitative semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with unemployed persons who reported mental health problems. Interview topics included individual experience with help-seeking and mental health service use with a focus on barriers and facilitators. Transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis and major themes were identified.ResultsParticipants reported being treated as “different” within their social environment as well as by health care professionals because of their mental health problems, which resulted in a lack of self-esteem and avoidance of help-seeking. Interviewees associated negative attributes with help-seeking such as helplessness and weakness. They equated psychiatric medication with illegal drugs and worried about the risk of addiction. However, social support and a desire for change on the other hand increased the motivation to search for help. Employment agency staff were mostly perceived as supportive by individuals seeking mental health services.ConclusionsUnemployed individuals with mental health problems faced barriers and facilitators when seeking help on three different levels: (1) mental health literacy; (2) stigma and discrimination; and (3) structures and conditions of health care. Awareness and attitudes of health care professionals concerning mental health issues should be improved. Stigmatisation of people with mental illnesses should be reduced in health care settings. Training for employment agency staff concerning mental health problems and services is recommended.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-017-1997-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Barriers and facilitators of help-seeking among unemployed persons with mental health problems: a qualitative study

Staiger

Waldmann

Rüsch

et al. 2017

BMC Health Serv Res

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“…Like people with mental illness, some of their family members may be harmed by public and by self-stigma (Moses, in press;Phelan, Bromet, & Link, 1998;Struening et al, 2001;Van der Sanden, Bos, Stutterheim, Pryor, & Kok, 2013). Families report that friends, neighbors, and coworkers often blame them for their relatives' mental illness or express disapproval because the relative has not quickly recovered.…”

Section: Family Stigmamentioning

confidence: 96%

The Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Seeking and Participating in Mental Health Care

Corrigan

Druss

Perlick

2014

Psychol Sci Public Interest

1,069

745

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Treatments have been developed and tested to successfully reduce the symptoms and disabilities of many mental illnesses. Unfortunately, people distressed by these illnesses often do not seek out services or choose to fully engage in them. One factor that impedes care seeking and undermines the service system is mental illness stigma. In this article, we review the complex elements of stigma in order to understand its impact on participating in care. We then summarize public policy considerations in seeking to tackle stigma in order to improve treatment engagement. Stigma is a complex construct that includes public, self, and structural components. It directly affects people with mental illness, as well as their support system, provider network, and community resources. The effects of stigma are moderated by knowledge of mental illness and cultural relevance. Understanding stigma is central to reducing its negative impact on care seeking and treatment engagement. Separate strategies have evolved for counteracting the effects of public, self, and structural stigma. Programs for mental health providers may be especially fruitful for promoting care engagement. Mental health literacy, cultural competence, and family engagement campaigns also mitigate stigma's adverse impact on care seeking. Policy change is essential to overcome the structural stigma that undermines government agendas meant to promote mental health care. Implications for expanding the research program on the connection between stigma and care seeking are discussed.

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“…The importance of psychosocial and environmental problems has been emphasized previously, and is highlighted in an axis of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-V. Many clinical reports have focused on the psychiatric symptoms produced by chronic social stress from unstable psychosocial relationships, specifically investigating the relationships between patients and their family members or caregivers [7][8][9][10]. Families and caregivers of patients with brain disorders or mental illnesses such as depressive/bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, and epilepsy display high levels of depression and anxiety, and are at increased risk of developing psychological distress or psychiatric symptoms [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Altered behavior and neural activity in conspecific cagemates co-housed with mouse models of brain disorders

Yang

Jung

Seo

et al. 2016

Physiology & Behavior

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Experiences of stigma by association among family members of people with mental illness.

Cited by 67 publications

References 74 publications

Barriers and facilitators of help-seeking among unemployed persons with mental health problems: a qualitative study

Barriers and facilitators of help-seeking among unemployed persons with mental health problems: a qualitative study

The Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Seeking and Participating in Mental Health Care

Altered behavior and neural activity in conspecific cagemates co-housed with mouse models of brain disorders

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