Mental health professionals’ attitudes towards mental illness: professional and cultural factors in the INTER NOS study

SummaryPoverty is strongly associated with mental illness. Access to state benefits can be a lifeline for people with mental health problems in times of hardship and can assist them on their journey of recovery. However, benefit application processes can discriminate against those with mental illness and can result in individuals unjustly missing out on support. Clinical evidence from mental health professionals can ameliorate these challenges and ensure that people get access to financial help.Declaration of interestDr Billy Boland is on the advisory board of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.

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Attitudes and Perceived Barriers to Working with Families of Persons with Severe Mental Illness: Mental Health Professionals’ Perspectives

Community Mental Health Journal ◽

10.1007/s10597-008-9135-x ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 337-345 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Hea-Won Kim ◽

Michelle P. Salyers

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Severe Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Perceived Barriers

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Working with interpreters

Oxford Textbook of Migrant Psychiatry ◽

10.1093/med/9780198833741.003.0039 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 335-342

Author(s):

Rachel Tribe

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Meaning Making ◽

Clinical Work ◽

Cultural Factors ◽

Service Users ◽

Cultural Brokers ◽

New Knowledge ◽

Ways Of Thinking

Psychiatrists will come into contact with service users who do not use English or the language of the country to which they have migrated. The professional responsibilities of all mental health professionals carry an obligation to serve all members of our communities equitably and impartially; this will include people who have migrated and are not fluent in the language of their chosen country of migration. Working with interpreters and cultural brokers can be an enriching and informative experience for psychiatrists, which can lead to the development of new knowledge. This is in addition to the challenging of what may be taken-for-granted knowledge, as well as the development of additional skills and ways of thinking about mental health. Interpreters and cultural brokers can, in addition to translating the language, explain relevant cultural factors, which are important to the clinical work and the meaning-making of service users and gain additional perspectives.

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Introduction to This Guide

Self-System Therapy for Depression ◽

10.1093/med-psych/9780190602512.003.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 3-6

Author(s):

Kari M. Eddington ◽

Timothy J. Strauman ◽

Angela Z. Vieth ◽

Gregory G. Kolden

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Cognitive Therapy ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Self Regulation ◽

System Therapy ◽

Treatment Of Depression ◽

Single Approach

Depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness, and mental health professionals in a variety of practice settings have witnessed its debilitating effects. Many pathways can lead to depression, and no single approach to treatment is successful for all clients. Chapter 1 provides an overview of self-system therapy (SST), a treatment approach that targets deficits in self-regulation. Research has shown that SST is as effective overall as cognitive therapy and that it leads to better outcomes for a subset of depressed clients who struggle with self-regulation. Suggestions are given for how the Therapist Guide and Client Workbook should be used for the treatment of depression.

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Resilience and associative stigma among mental health professionals in a tertiary psychiatric hospital: a cross-sectional study in Singapore

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033762 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. e033762 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sherilyn Chang ◽

Louisa Picco ◽

Edimansyah Abdin ◽

Qi Yuan ◽

Siow Ann Chong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Family Member ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Health Workers ◽

Close Friend ◽

Allied Health Professionals ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Associative Stigma

ObjectivesThe mental health profession exposes healthcare workers to unique stressors such as associative stigma (stigmatisation that is extended from the stigmatised patients to psychiatric professionals and is based on affiliation with an individual with mental illness). Enhancing resilience, or the ability to ‘bounce back’ from adversity, is found to be useful in reducing occupational stress and its negative effects. In view of the high burnout rates reported among mental health professionals, this study aimed to examine resilience in this group of professionals and to explore the association between resilience and associative stigma.DesignObservational study—cross-sectional design.SettingTertiary psychiatry hospital in Singapore.ParticipantsThe study was conducted among 470 mental health professionals (doctors, nurses and allied health professionals) working in the hospital.MeasuresResilience was assessed using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and participants completed questionnaires that examined associative stigma. Participants provided their sociodemographic information, length of service, and information on whether they knew of a close friend or family member who had a mental illness.ResultsMean resilience score for the overall sample was 3.59 (SD=0.64). Older age (β=0.012, 95% CI 0.004 to 0.019, p=0.003) and having known a family member or close friend with a mental illness (β=0.155, 95% CI 0.019 to 0.290, p=0.025) predicted higher BRS score. Associative stigma remained significantly associated with resilience score after controlling for sociodemographic factors whereby higher associative stigma predicted lower resilience scores.ConclusionThe present finding suggests that resilience building programmes among mental health workers should target those of the younger age group, and that addressing the issue of associative stigma is essential.

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