Social contact key to overcoming mental health stigma

Social contact-based education helps reduce mental health stigma by bringing individuals living with mental illness into a safe, enabling environment where they can share their stories with others. (iStock) People living with mental illness often battle a stigma worse than the illness itself-not only within society, but within their own families. Public education campaigns are limited in this regard, and sometimes promote more harm than good, according to a new study from Western University. PhD candidate Joseph Adu conducted a literature review across countries (Canada, the U.K. and New Zealand) to explore the effectiveness of past public education campaigns to reduce stigma toward mental illness, and the potential of a more-hands on approach through social contact. He shared his findings in a paper coauthored by his supervisor Abe Oudshoorn , and professors Kelly Anderson , Carrie Anne Marshall and Heather Stuart , which was recently published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing . Adu discovered intentional interactions between people living with mental illness and those without that experience were more effective in reducing stigma, and could be a promising next step in developing a long-term anti-stigma strategy. Close to home Adu, a health and rehabilitation studies student, has been studying the effects of familial mental illness stigma as part of his doctoral research.