Avoidance of Counseling: Psychological Factors That Inhibit Seeking Help

Abstract

How do counselors reach out to individuals who are reluctant to seek counseling services? To answer this question, the authors examined the research on the psychological help‐seeking barriers from counseling, clinical and social psychology, as well as social work and psychiatry. Specific avoidance factors that have been identified in the mental health literature; important variations in the setting, problem type, demographics, and cultural characteristics that can influence the degree to which avoidance factors affect professional help‐seeking decisions; and suggestions for overcoming these avoidance factors are discussed.

“If You Build It, They Will Come”: Attitudes of Medical Residents and Fellows About Seeking Services in a Resident Wellness Program

“…This finding is similar to a large body of literature suggesting that certain ethnic and racial minority groups in the United States may be more inclined to seek assistance from family and friends or medical providers. 9,16,26 No age differences were found in willingness to access services or in perceived barriers; it is likely there was limited age range in the residents sampled, which therefore made it difficult to detect differences. Finally, despite evidence that primary care providers may be more vulnerable to career dissatisfaction 38 and more open to seeking mental health treatment, 31 primary care and specialty care trainees were equally willing to seek help at the RWP.…”

“…15,16 Distressed individuals are often concerned about possible risks or barriers to treatment, 17 although higher education is associated with positive attitudes about counseling. 18 Educational outreach in the general population, publicizing the benefits of counseling and countering perceived risks, has increased willingness to seek help.…”

“…18 Educational outreach in the general population, publicizing the benefits of counseling and countering perceived risks, has increased willingness to seek help. 16,19 To date few studies have assessed whether educational campaigns lead to changes in physicians' attitudes and Intervention A resident wellness program (RWP) was designed to lower known barriers limiting resident access to services.…”

Barriers to support: a qualitative exploration into the help-seeking and avoidance factors of young adults

“…It has been suggested that variation of demographic and situational factors (such as gender, culture, awareness and age) affects the salience of different avoidance factors, and that help-seeking decisions are often influenced by multiple factors (Vogel, Wester & Larson, 2007b). Factors considered in this review encompass demographic variables including age and gender, along with avoidance factors, such as stigma and social norms.…”

‘They daren’t tell people’: therapists’ experiences of working with clients who report anomalous experiences

“…For example, Corrigan and Penn (as cited in Vogel, Wester, & Larson, 2007) argue that this can be achieved in three ways: protest (e.g., therapists should be vocal and draw attention to negative portrayals of mental health), education (e.g., providing accurate information about mental health), and contact (e.g., reaching out to those experiencing mental health issues or setting up support groups). In terms of AEs specifically, this could be achieved by therapists, services, and training organisations having adequate and reliable information about AEs and the potential link with mental health (Dein, 2012), including research findings and case studies, but also peer-facilitated support groups for AEs, such as those set up by the hearing voice network (HVN) for individuals who hear voices.…”