Professional Help-Seeking Attitudes of Counselors-In-Training

Abnormal psychology instructors often use traditional and personal methods to educate students about and improve student attitudes toward mental illness and professional help-seeking. Data from abnormal psychology students ( N = 190) were used to determine if and how students’ attitudes toward mental illness and professional help-seeking attitudes change over time. The study also examined whether stigma-related variables were influenced by student presentations about personal experiences with mental illness. With few exceptions, stigma-related variables did not change over time or in relation to student presentations. Implications for research and teaching to improve attitudes toward mental illness and professional help-seeking are discussed.

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Causal beliefs of mental illness and its impact on help-seeking attitudes: a cross-sectional study among university students in Singapore

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035818 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. e035818

Author(s):

Gregory Tee Hng Tan ◽

Shazana Shahwan ◽

Chong Ming Janrius Goh ◽

Wei Jie Ong ◽

Ellaisha Samari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

University Students ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Social Contact ◽

Mental Illnesses ◽

Considerable Proportion ◽

Causal Beliefs ◽

Professional Help ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

Beliefs About Mental Illness

ObjectivesA considerable proportion of those who suffer from mental illnesses in Singapore do not seek any form of professional help. The reluctance to seek professional help could be due to misconceptions about the causes of mental illnesses. Research has shown that help-seeking attitudes can predict actual service use. As young adults are most at risk of developing mental illnesses, this study aims to elucidate the impact of causal beliefs about mental illness on help-seeking attitudes among university students in Singapore.DesignPrior to attending an anti-stigma intervention, data on the Causal Beliefs about Mental Illness, Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health services and questions pertaining to sociodemographic background were collected from participants using a self-administered questionnaire. Multiple linear regressions were performed to examine the relationship between causal beliefs and help-seeking, as well as their sociodemographic correlates.SettingsA university in Singapore.Participants390 students who were studying in a University in Singapore.ResultsYounger age was associated with higher scores on psychosocial attribution, while prior social contact with individuals with mental illness was significantly associated with lower scores on personality attribution. With regard to help-seeking attitudes; being a male and personality attribution were significantly associated with lower scores on ‘Psychological Openness’ and ‘Indifference to Stigma’, while psychosocial attribution was significantly associated with higher scores on ‘Help-seeking Propensity’. Having prior social contact also predicted higher ‘Psychological Openness’, while being in Year 2 and 3 predicted lower scores on ’Indifference to Stigma’.ConclusionFindings from this study suggest that help-seeking attitudes might be influenced by causal beliefs, with personality attribution being the most impairing. Hence, to reduce the wide treatment gap in Singapore, anti-stigma interventions targeting young people could focus on addressing beliefs that attribute mental illness to the personality of the individual.

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Mental health stigma and professional help-seeking attitudes a comparison between Cuba and Germany

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0246501 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. e0246501

Author(s):

Laura Nohr ◽

Alexis Lorenzo Ruiz ◽

Juan E. Sandoval Ferrer ◽

Ulrike Buhlmann

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Stigma ◽

Professional Help ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

German Sample ◽

Community Attitudes

Globally the burden due to mental disorders is continuously increasing. Still, professional help-seeking behavior is not fully understood. To conceive cultural determinants of help-seeking is crucial to reduce personal and social costs of (untreated) mental disorders. The current study investigates mental health stigma and help-seeking attitudes in a Cuban (n = 195) and a German (n = 165) sample. In a questionnaire survey we asked for attitudes towards mental illness and professional help-seeking in the general Cuban and German populations. The cultural context was associated with mental health stigma and professional help-seeking attitudes. Interestingly, Cuban participants reported stronger mental health stigma and more willingness to seek help. In multiple hierarchical regression analyses, community attitudes towards the mentally ill significantly predicted help-seeking attitudes, especially in the Cuban sample. Only in the German sample, more negative individual beliefs about mental illness predicted more self-stigma on help-seeking. Beyond that, cultural context moderated the association between mental health stigma and help-seeking attitudes with a stronger association between the measures in the German sample. However, gender did not predict help-seeking attitudes and self-stigma on help-seeking and no interactions between community attitudes, cultural context, and gender were found in the prediction of help-seeking attitudes. Similarities and differences between the samples are discussed in the light of the cultural contexts and peculiarities of the current samples. Concluding, implications of the current findings are reviewed.

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Asian American Students' Cultural Values, Stigma, and Relational Self-construal: Correlates of Attitudes Toward Professional Help Seeking

Journal of Mental Health Counseling ◽

10.17744/mehc.30.2.g662g5l2r1352198 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 157-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 106

Author(s):

Munyi Shea ◽

Christine Yeh

Keyword(s):

Cultural Values ◽

Asian American ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Psychological Help ◽

Relational Self ◽

Asian Values ◽

Professional Help ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

Self Construal ◽

Interdependent Self

In this study, we investigated how adherence to Asian values, stigma of receiving psychological help, relational-interdependent self-construal, age and gender, for Asian American college and graduate students, singly and in concert predicted attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. We also examined how stigma mediates the effect of adherence to Asian values on help-seeking attitudes. Correlational and multiple regression analyses determined that lower adherence to Asian values, lower levels of stigma, a higher relational-interdependent self-construal were associated with more positive help-seeking attitudes. Also, female and older students possessed more positive help-seeking attitudes. The mediational model was not significant. We discuss potential barriers to seeking professional help across sociocultural levels. We address implications for research and practice in mental health counseling.

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A primary investigation of professional help-seeking attitudes, self-concealment and gender roles of university students

Pegem Eğitim ve Öğretim Dergisi ◽

10.14527/c1s4m7 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 59-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Yaşar Özbay ◽

Şerife Terzi ◽

Serdar Erkan ◽

Zeynep Cihangir Çankaya

Keyword(s):

Gender Roles ◽

University Students ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Personal Information ◽

Short Form ◽

Female Gender ◽

Socioeconomic Level ◽

Professional Help ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

Positive Attitudes

The aim of this study is to investigate the professional help-seeking attitudes of university students from their gender, gender roles, the perspective of socioeconomic level and self concealment. Professional Help-Seeking Attitudes Scale-Short Form, Self-Concealment Scale, Bem Gender Role Inventory, and personal information form have been used as data gathering tools. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, t-test and one way anova. The results of the study show that professional help-seeking attitudes among female students are more positive than the male students; those in low or middle socioeconomic level has more positive attitudes; those with female gender roles and those with high androgens have more positive attitudes than male and ambiguous gender roles; and the students who have high levels of selfconcealment have negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help.

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Psychological and Cultural Influences on Koreans' Help-Seeking Attitudes

Journal of Mental Health Counseling ◽

10.17744/mehc.27.3.9kh5v6rec36egxlv ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 266-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Sung-Kyung Yoo ◽

Michael Goh ◽

Eunju Yoon

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Cultural Influences ◽

Counseling Services ◽

Professional Help ◽

Psychological Variables ◽

Hierarchical Multiple Regression ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

Cultural Variables ◽

Network Orientation

This study examined the influence of gender, cultural variables (i.e., horizontal and vertical individualism), and personal psychological variables (i.e., psychological distress, social-network orientation, and self-concealment) on attitudes toward seeking counseling in Korea. For the 142 college student participants, gender, social network orientation, and self-concealment significantly influenced attitudes toward seeking professional help. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis suggested that higher scores on negative social network orientation and self-concealment were associated with lower attitudes toward seeking professional help. Men showed more negative help-seeking attitudes than women. Implications of the findings for developing and delivering counseling services in Korea are discussed.

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Japanese College Students' Attitudes toward Professional Psychological Services: The Role of Cultural Self-Construal and Self-Concealment

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.100.2.387-399 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 100 (2) ◽

pp. 387-399 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Mika Omori

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Psychological Services ◽

Professional Help ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

Self Construal ◽

Interpersonal Openness ◽

Cultural Self ◽

Students Attitudes

The utilization of professional help is affected by individual factors such as help-seeking attitudes and self-concealment as well as the availability of mental health services. The present study examined the role of cultural self-construal and self-concealment on attitudes toward professional psychological services. A survey was conducted with 214 Japanese college students. Multiple regression analyses found that interdependent self-construal significantly predicted the Recognition of Need for Psychological Services. Self-concealment was predictive of two different facets of help-seeking attitudes: Interpersonal Openness and Stigma Tolerance. Future studies are recommended to refine the model that was tested.

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Short-Term Changes in Internalizing Symptoms and Help-Seeking Attitudes During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology ◽

10.1521/jscp.2021.40.5.480 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 40 (5) ◽

pp. 448-480

Author(s):

P. Priscilla Lui ◽

Shefali Katedia ◽

Savannah Pham ◽

Westley Giadolor ◽

Sarah Gobrial ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Asian Americans ◽

Internalizing Symptoms ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Professional Help ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

General Decline

Introduction: Existing data suggest that American adults experience added emotional difficulties amid the coronavirus disease outbreak. Psychotherapy can help mitigate mental health concerns; still, many individuals with unmet mental health needs refrain from professional help-seeking. According to theory of reasoned action, negative help-seeking attitudes are key barriers to engagement with mental health services. Given that individuals with severe distress are more likely to seek therapy than individuals with mild psychopathology symptoms, greater initial and increasing levels of internalizing symptoms amid the coronavirus outbreak likely are linked to increasingly favorable attitudes toward professional help-seeking. Method: In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, American community adults, N = 831 [49.0% Asian Americans], Mage = 46.78, 50.2% women, were recruited for a panel survey study conducted over the course of three weeks. At each time point, participants completed questionnaires to assess their internalizing symptoms associated with depression and anxiety as well as their openness to and perceived value/need in treatment seeking. Results: Very few participants—especially Asian Americans —were seeking counseling during the study period. Latent growth curve results showed a general decline in internalizing symptoms, and no changes in openness to and perceived need in professional help-seeking. Whereas there were no time-varying correlations between internalizing symptoms and help-seeking attitudes, individuals with greater baseline internalizing symptoms generally were more open to seeking professional help and perceived less value in mental health services. Sensitivity analyses showed patterns in the Asian American subsample similar to those in the overall sample. Discussion: Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.

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