scholarly journals Physician Self-disclosure of Lived Experience Improves Mental Health Attitudes Among Medical Students: A Randomized Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238212051988935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Martin ◽  
Julie Chilton ◽  
Doron Gothelf ◽  
Doron Amsalem
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Randomized Study ◽  
Role Modeling ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviors

Introduction: Depression and suicidal ideation are common among medical students, a group at higher risk for suicide completion than their age-normed peers. Medical students have health-seeking behaviors that are not commensurate with their mental health needs, a discrepancy likely related to stigma and to limited role-modeling provided by physicians. Methods: We surveyed second-year medical students using the Attitudes to Psychiatry (ATP-30) and Attitudes to Mental Illness (AMI) instruments. In addition, we asked questions about role-modeling and help-seeking attitudes at baseline. We then conducted a randomized trial of an intervention consisting of 2 components: (a) a panel of 2 physicians with personal histories of mental illness speaking about their diagnosis, treatment, and recovery to the students, immediately followed by (b) small-group facilitated discussions. We repeated the ATP-30 and AMI after the active/early group was exposed to the panel, but before the control/late group was similarly exposed. Results: Forty-three medical students participated (53% women). The majority of students (91%) agreed that knowing physicians further along in their careers who struggled with mental health issues, got treatment, and were now doing well would make them more likely to access care if they needed it. Students in the active group (n = 22) had more favorable attitudes on ATP-30 ( P = .01) and AMI ( P = .02) scores, as compared with the control group (n = 21). Conclusion: Medical students can benefit from the availability of, and exposure to physicians with self-disclosed histories of having overcome mental illnesses. Such exposures can favorably improve stigmatized views about psychiatry, or of patients or colleagues affected by psychopathology. This intervention has the potential to enhance medical students’ mental health and their health-seeking behaviors.

Paradigm 6: Improved Knowledge About Mental Illness Will Eradicate Stigma

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Stuart ◽  
Julio Arboleda-Flórez ◽  
Norman Sartorius
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Social Rejection ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Clear Distinction

Chapter 7 discusses the differences between misconceptions that respond to information, and prejudices that are deep-seated and resistant to change. It is important to maintain a clear distinction between programs that are designed to reduce disability by improving mental health literacy and help-seeking, from those designed to decrease stigma and social rejection. There is a danger that increased understanding of the neurobiological basis for mental illnesses engenders stigma by sharpening divisions between what is considered “normal” and “abnormal” and by consolidating stereotypes of immutability, uncontrollability, and dangerousness.

A Tendency in Therapeutics

2016 ◽  
pp. 255-260
Author(s):  
Donald W. Winnicott
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Mental Hospital ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Hospital Treatment ◽  
Sharp Line ◽  
Modern Psychiatry

In this essay, Winnicott deals with the theory that mental illnesses are disorders of emotional development and that there is no sharp line between mental health and mental illness. He stresses the importance of medical students being informed correctly about the relation of mental illness—both neurosis and psychosis—to normal emotional development. Winnicott states his belief that the best trend in modern psychiatry is inviting mentally ill people to ask for mental hospital treatment early in their illness.

scholarly journals Stigma and discrimination limit access to mental health care

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Thornicroft
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Stigma And Discrimination ◽  
Epidemiological Surveys

AbstractThis editorial provides an overview of how far access to mental health care is limited by perceptions of stigma and anticipated discrimination. Globally over 70% of young people and adults with mental illness receive no treatment from healthcare staff. The rates of non-treatment are far higher in low income countries. Evidence from some descriptive studies and epidemiological surveys suggest that potent factors increasing the likelihood of treatment avoidance, or long delays before presenting for care include: (i) lack of knowledge about the features and treatability of mental illnesses; (ii) ignorance about how to access assessment and treatment; (iii) prejudice against people who have mental illness, and (iv) expectations of discrimination against people who have a diagnosis of mental illness. The associations between low rates of help seeking, and stigma and discrimination are as yet poorly understood and require more careful characterisation and analysis, providing the platform for more effective action to ensure that a greater proportion of people with mental illness are effectively treated in future.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Shining Mind- A Smartphone App to Increase Mental Health Literacy Among College Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vu Hong Van ◽  
Kieu Thi Anh Dao ◽  
Dang Hoang Minh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Literacy Intervention ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Global Public Health

Background: Mental illness is a global public health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as Vietnam. Improving mental health literacy was found to be associated with early detection and treatment of mental illness and increased help-seeking behaviors. With the development of information technology, IT applications such as websites and mobile applications have become essential tools for mental health literacy intervention. Though there has been a number of mobile apps delivering psychotherpies, little focus on mental health litracy intervention.   Aims: The study aims to a) evaluate the feasibility of a mobile-based mental health literacy intervention called Shining Mind and b) assess the effectiveness of the Shining Mind app in improving mental health literacy among college students. Methods: The study used randomized control trial design with two groups: experimental group (N=68) and control group (N=84). Results: The average number of times of accessing Shining Mind was 22.97 per student (SD=25.13) with one student (1.47%) never logging into the app. In terms of quality, the app was rated moderately good by participants (M=3.3, SD=0.6). Regarding mental health literacy, the results showed that there were group effects over time regarding depression and biopolar recognition, social anxiety labelling, stigma and parent help-seeking intention.

Mental health literacy about bipolar disorder and schizophrenia among medical students: a comparative study of illness recognition, treatment, and attitudes according to perception of aggressiveness-dangerousness

Salud Mental ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Vargas-Huicochea ◽  
◽  
Rebeca Robles-García ◽  
Carlos Berlanga ◽  
Carlos Alfonso Tovilla-Zárate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Illness Recognition

Introduction. Lack of information may result in health professionals’ negative attitudes toward individuals with mental illness. Objective. We sought to determine the association between the perception of aggressiveness–dangerousness and illness recognition, suggested treatment, and attitudes regarding schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a group of medical students. Method. This field study used a non-experimental, cross-sectional comparative design in a purposive sample of medical students. Mental illness recognition, beliefs about adequate treatment, perception of patient’s aggressiveness-dangerousness, and attitudes toward severe mentally ill persons were assessed with previously validated instruments. Results. Of the 104 participants, 54.8% identified a mental health condition in the schizophrenia vignette compared with only 3.8% in the case of bipolar disorder. Most students believed that both diagnoses could lead to aggressive behaviors. Dangerousness was more frequently perceived in the schizophrenia vignette. Discussion and conclusion. It is necessary to sensitize and educate medical students so they have accurate information about symptoms and available treatments for individuals with mental illnesses.

Prescriptive Power: Biologism, Biopsychiatry and Drug-centred Psychopharmacology

Somatechnics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 291-309
Author(s):  
Francis Russell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
False Consciousness ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Biological Ontology ◽  
Health Discourse

This paper looks to make a contribution to the critical project of psychiatrist Joanna Moncrieff, by elucidating her account of ‘drug-centred’ psychiatry, and its relation to critical and cultural theory. Moncrieff's ‘drug-centred’ approach to psychiatry challenges the dominant view of mental illness, and psychopharmacology, as necessitating a strictly biological ontology. Against the mainstream view that mental illnesses have biological causes, and that medications like ‘anti-depressants’ target specific biological abnormalities, Moncrieff looks to connect pharmacotherapy for mental illness to human experience, and to issues of social justice and emancipation. However, Moncrieff's project is complicated by her framing of psychopharmacological politics in classical Marxist notions of ideology and false consciousness. Accordingly, she articulates a political project that would open up psychiatry to the subjugated knowledge of mental health sufferers, whilst also characterising those sufferers as beholden to ideology, and as being effectively without knowledge. Accordingly, in order to contribute to Moncrieff's project, and to help introduce her work to a broader humanities readership, this paper elucidates her account of ‘drug-centred psychiatry’, whilst also connecting her critique of biopsychiatry to notions of biologism, biopolitics, and bio-citizenship. This is done in order to re-describe the subject of mental health discourse, so as to better reveal their capacities and agency. As a result, this paper contends that, once reframed, Moncrieff's work helps us to see value in attending to human experience when considering pharmacotherapy for mental illness.

Evaluation of a Resilience-Based Intervention for Children of Parents With Mental Illness

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1041-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliza Fraser ◽  
Kenneth I. Pakenham
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Participant Satisfaction ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Treatment Gains ◽  
And Control

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a group psychosocial intervention for children (aged 12–18) of a parent with mental illness (copmi). Method: A treatment and waitlist-control design study with pre- and post-treatment, and 8 week follow up, was carried out. The treatment (n = 27) and control (n=17) groups were compared on three groups of dependent variables: intervention targets (mental health literacy, connectedness, coping strategies), adjustment (depression, life satisfaction, prosocial behaviour, emotional/behavioural difficulties), and caregiving experiences. Results: Group comparisons failed to show statistically significant intervention effects, but reliable clinical change analyses suggested that compared to the control group, more intervention participants had clinically significant improvements in mental health literacy, depression, and life satisfaction. These treatment gains were maintained 8 weeks after treatment. Participant satisfaction data supported these treatment gains. Conclusions: Given study limitations and the modest support for intervention effectiveness it is important that this and other similar interventions should continue to be revised and undergo rigorous evaluation.

scholarly journals Shame, perceived knowledge and satisfaction associated with mental health as predictors of attitude patterns towards help-seeking

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Rüsch ◽  
M. Müller ◽  
V. Ajdacic-Gross ◽  
S. Rodgers ◽  
P.W. Corrigan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Mental Health Service Use ◽  
Psychiatric Medication ◽  
Perceived Knowledge ◽  
Professional Help

Aims.To examine stigma- and knowledge-related barriers to help-seeking among members of the general population.Methods.In a representative survey of young to middle-aged Swiss adults (n = 8875), shame about a potential own mental illness, perceived knowledge about and satisfaction with one's mental health, psychiatric symptoms and attitudes towards help-seeking were assessed.Results.A latent profile analysis of all participants yielded two groups with different attitudes towards help-seeking. Relative to the majority, a one-in-four subgroup endorsed more negative attitudes towards seeking professional help, including psychiatric medication, and was characterized by more shame, less perceived knowledge, higher satisfaction with their mental health, younger age, male gender and lower education. Among participants with high symptom levels (n = 855), a third subgroup was reluctant to seek help in their private environment and characterized by high symptoms as well as low satisfaction with their mental health.Conclusions.Shame as an emotional proxy of self-stigma as well as poor subjective mental health literacy may be independent barriers to help-seeking. Interventions to increase mental health service use could focus on both variables and on those individuals with more negative views about professional help, in the general public as well as among people with a current mental illness.

scholarly journals Undergraduate Education in Psychiatry in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
Roy Abraham Kallivayalil ◽  
Arun Enara
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Common Mental Disorders ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Treatment Gap ◽  
The World ◽  
Education In India

AbstractMedical education curricula, from around the world, have often neglected psychiatry as a subject of importance in undergraduate medical training.In India, the scenario has not been different from the rest of the world. The National Mental Health Survey done in India, recently, estimates a treatment gap of around 80–85% for various mental illnesses. This provides a strong case to strengthen the undergraduate psychiatry curricula since it would help tackle the treatment gap of common mental disorders in the community.Further, a strong educational foundation with meaningful inclusion of mental health and well-being, will also make the trainee aware of their own mental well-being and better help seeking behaviour in the medical student. In this article, we look to review the evolution of undergraduate medical education in India.

scholarly journals Spaces of Wellbeing; A Framework for Tertiary Environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tessa Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Real Problem ◽  
Architectural Theory ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Maori Health

<p>Generally, one in five New Zealanders experience mental illness. Majority of lifelong mental illnesses begin before the age of 25, presenting a real problem for youth. In 2018, young people of New Zealand called for more help as they rallied outside parliament. The government responded by allocating more money towards student mental health. Yet, employing more counsellors, which is necessary, is not the only way to contribute to an urgent need for a new approach towards supporting mental health and wellbeing.   This research portfolio responded to this complex situation by developing ‘a guide’ for the design of tertiary spaces supportive of wellbeing. One of the most important goals of this work was to align the research closely with user needs and views, therefore research methods involved including students views in more than one phase of development. The work draws on evidence based design, geography, health and architectural theory and the existing wellbeing knowledge. Engagement with the users, observation, experiments and real life interventions were critical in refining a conceptual framework which kept the users at the centre of the process. The outcome of this research was a resource to guide the design of tertiary space for wellbeing, using five intervention points, which could have a positive effect on the student wellbeing if implemented as a system.  New Zealand must shift the current model of mental health care towards more holistic understandings of health, which better incorporates Māori health and wellbeing. Despite New Zealand’s bicultural values, Māori experience significantly higher rates of mental illness. This prompted to design with the same understandings of hauora (health). As a result, the conceptual framework presented a multi-dimensional, interconnected understanding of wellbeing through an integrated framework exploring physical, cultural, social, learning and spiritual environments.   While it is acknowledged that environments can affect our mental health, this is an under researched field requiring motivation to stimulate discussion and change. This research advocates wellbeing as a central focus in the design of our built environments and explores the opportunity for architecture to facilitate our student and national wellbeing goals.</p>

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