Mental illness stigma, psychological resilience, and help seeking: What are the relationships?

Self‐Stigma, Mental Health Literacy, and Health Outcomes in Integrated Care

“…Mental illness in the United States is a pervasive health care issue, with one in five adults experiencing a mental health concern in any given year (National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d.). Despite its prevalence, researchers have found that only 70% of individuals in need of professional services for a mental illness seek professional mental health care for their concerns (Crowe, Averett, & Glass, ; Henderson, Evans‐Lacko, & Thornicroft, ). One of the largest culprits of this treatment gap is the stigma associated with mental illness and help seeking, which some researchers have described as just as debilitating as the illness itself and one of the largest barriers to seeking treatment (Corrigan, Druss, & Perlick, ; Crowe & Averett, ; Crowe et al, ; Overton & Medina, ; Vogel, Wade, & Haake, ).…”

“…Despite its prevalence, researchers have found that only 70% of individuals in need of professional services for a mental illness seek professional mental health care for their concerns (Crowe, Averett, & Glass, ; Henderson, Evans‐Lacko, & Thornicroft, ). One of the largest culprits of this treatment gap is the stigma associated with mental illness and help seeking, which some researchers have described as just as debilitating as the illness itself and one of the largest barriers to seeking treatment (Corrigan, Druss, & Perlick, ; Crowe & Averett, ; Crowe et al, ; Overton & Medina, ; Vogel, Wade, & Haake, ). Even individuals with mental health concerns thought to be common, treatable, and potentially less serious (e.g., depression) are often reluctant to seek professional help because of stigma (Vogel et al, ; Wang & Lai, ).…”

“…In contrast, self‐stigma, also called internalized stigma (Boyd, Adler, Otilingam, & Peters, ), refers to the stigma one places on oneself; it involves a reduction in self‐esteem or self‐worth as a result of internalizing public stigma (Clement et al, ). Both types of stigmas involve negative consequences and prevent many individuals from seeking help (Clement et al, ; Crowe et al, ; Mullen & Crowe, ; Pattyn, Verhaeghe, Sercu, & Bracke, ; Zartaloudi & Madianos, ).…”

“…In addition, particular attention has been given to the “gender gap” (Pattyn, Verhaeghe, & Bracke, , p. 1089) in the use of mental health services. Both cultural and personal attitudes about mental illness (Crowe et al, ) have resulted in gender differences in help seeking and attitudes about mental health concerns, with men holding more stigma toward seeking treatment for a mental health concern compared with women (Pattyn et al, ; Smith & Cashwell, ).…”

Self‐Stigma of Mental Illness and Help Seeking Among School Counselors

“…Researchers have begun to examine how professionals who work in helping and related professions view mental illness and cope with the demands of job‐related stress, as well as to study the role that stigma plays in help‐seeking decisions (Crowe, Averett, & Glass, ; Granello & Gibbs, ; Smith & Cashwell, ). Although the emerging body of literature suggests that stigma exists and prevents many from seeking mental health support, there is no literature to date examining stigma and help seeking in school counselors who are at risk of developing mental illness, or other types of mental health professionals.…”