Personal experience, work seniority improve mental health professionals’ outlook

University of Washington - One might think that after years of seeing people at their worst, mental health workers would harbor negative attitudes about mental illness, perhaps associating people with mental health issues as less competent or dangerous. But a new study suggests the opposite. In a survey of 731 mental health professionals in Washington state, the more seniority employees had on the job, the more positively they viewed people with mental illness. The survey also linked mental health workers' positive attitudes with having advanced degrees and reporting a mental illness themselves. "The results suggest that the more exposure you have personally and professionally to mental illness, the more positive attitudes you'll have,” said Jennifer Stuber , lead author of the paper and an assistant professor of social work at the University of Washington. Pervasive, stigmatizing views of people with mental illness can create barriers for their employment, housing, medical treatment and social relationships, wrote Stuber in the study published online in January  by Psychiatric Services. Mental health workers having these biased, denigrating views could set low expectations for improvement for individuals seeking treatment, she said.