Books, Articles and Research

Sticks and stones: Breaking the stigma of child and youth mental health
A brief outlook on the health of Canadian school children and the stigma related efforts that are being developed.

Family heritage and depression guides: Family and peer views influence adolescent attitudes about depression
In this study, 15 adolescents were interviewed to examine how the views and behaviours of others influence teens' decisions about seeking care for depression.

Psychological distress among Latino family caregivers of adults with schizophrenia: The roles of burden and stigma
This study examined the relation between caregivers' mental health and perceived burden and stigma and characteristics of the patient and caregiver within the Latino community.

Family views of stigma
The views of 487 members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) concerning stigma were surveyed in 20 different States. Almost all identified stigma as a problem for their mentally ill relatives and for families in general.

Power of art and music
An article discussing the work of the author in using art and music therapy as tools for promoting feelings of well-being in individuals with who have physical or psychological limitations.

Art therapy for children: How it leads to change
The aim of art therapy is to facilitate positive change through engagement with the therapist and the art materials in a safe environment. This article will explore how art therapy is used to help children with emotional, developmental and behavioral problems. It will show how change occurs during the process of physical involvement with the materials; through the making of a significant art object; through sublimation of feelings into the images; and through communication with the therapist via the art object.

Pastors' perceptions of mental disorders
Letter to the editor in which a study is discussed where pastors were surveyed on their views of mental illness.

School-age children's perceptions of mental illness
The purpose of this study was to describe how school-age children perceive mental illness.

Reaching out to high school youth: The effectiveness of a video-based antistigma program
This study evaluted the impact on Canadian high school students of a video-based antistigma program portraying real life experiences of individuals with schizophrenia. It also includes lesson plans to guide classroom discussions and active learning.

Reducing stigma and discrimination against older people with mental disorders: A technical consensus statement
This technical consensus statement is jointly produced by the Old Age Psychiatry section of the World Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization, and other non-governmental organizations. It is intended to be a tool for (i) promoting debate at all levels on the stigmatisation of older people with mental disorders; (ii) outlining the nature, causes and consequences of this stigmatisation; and (iii) promoting and suggesting policies, programmes and actions to combat this stigmatisation.

Growing older: The lived experience of older persons with serious mental illness
The purpose of this qualitative paper is to describe, from the consumers perspective, the complex factors involved as persons with serious mental illness grow older in the community.

Mental healthcare for rural seniors. An outreach program in Cedar Rapids, IA, uses an integrated approach to break down barriers to care
Article discussing the Abbe Center for Community Mental Health in the Cedar Rapids, IA, and the work that the Center does in breaking down some of the barriers to mental health services for older adults in rural communities.

Beliefs about mental illness and willingness to seek help: A cross-sectional study
Evidence indicates that older adults underutilize mental health services, but little is known empirically about the perceptions older adults have about mental illnesses and their attitudes about seeking professional help for psychological problems. The present study examined beliefs about mental illnesses and willingness to seek professional help among younger and older persons.

Rural and frontier mental and behavioral health care: Barriers, effective policy strategies, best practices
This report focuses on the following areas: barriers to mental and behavioral health service delivery in rural America, model programs and effective activities for rural America, model policy strategies for rural mental and behavioral health care delivery, the role telehealth should play in service delivery to rural America, and the role that State Offices of Rural Health and other State and local organizations should play in service delivery to rural America.

A survey of preferred terms for users of mental health services.
This survey was conducted to determine how users of mental health services would like to be addressed by professionals. Three hundred two persons participating in a variety of inpatient and outpatient psychiatric programs were surveyed.

Demystifying mental illness in any and all languages
It can be difficult to bring mental health care to some immigrant communities, where beside the great language barriers, one encounters stigma that can transcend the individual and include the entire family. This article looks at providing mental health care across cultures.

From Brother?s Death, a Crusade
The death of her only brother, and the discovery that he had hidden his struggles with mental illness from his friends and family for years after he began hearing voices, rocked Ms. Malmon?s world, and by her junior year led her to start the student group that evolved into Active Minds Inc., a nonprofit organization with student-run chapters on 65 campuses, devoted to increasing awareness of mental illness.

Campus mental health services: Recommendations for change
College officials indicate that the number of students with serious mental illnesses has risen significantly. Media attention surrounding several high profile suicides has opened discussion of mental illness on campus. The authors summarize literature on college students and mental illness, including barriers to service receipt. Recommendations to improve campus-based responses for persons with a serious mental illness are presented on the basis of well-accepted service principles.

The journey of Native American people with serious mental illness: Executive summary
This report describes the first national conference on Native American people with serious mental illness. Describes meeting of State, tribal, and Federal mental health officials; providers; families; and consumers to tackle mental health delivery issues for Native Americans and to overcome barriers for developing coordinated, efficient, and culturally relevant systems of care.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a consumer-provided mental health recovery education presentation
The current study investigated the effectiveness of the In Our Own Voice (IOOV) mental health education program in improving knowledge and attitudes about mental illnesses.  

Stigma and discrimination towards people with schizophrenia and their family members : A qualitative study with focus groups
There is a scarcity of data regarding the actual stigma and discrimination experienced by schizophrenic patients and their relatives. Those experiences can vary significantly depending on the specific social group involved. This study explored such phenomena in our culture with a qualitative technique.

Blame, shame, and contamination: The impact of mental illness and drug dependence stigma on family members
Transcript of an Indian radio program that discusses the culture of mental illness within the setting of an Indian family, the stigma that surrounds mental illness, and the impact on the caregivers of individuals with mental illnesses.

Talking about mental illness: An evaluation of an anti-stigma and educational program in Hamilton, Ontario
An evaluation of the "Talking About Mental Illness" program and its effectiveness in decreasing stigmatizing attitudes and increasing understanding of mental illness.

Mental health-related knowledge, attitudes and practices in two kibbutzim
This study explored mental health-related knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in two kibbutzim (collective villages).

Lived experiences of family caregivers of mentally ill relatives
The aim of this paper is to report a study conducted to explore the meanings of the lived experiences that Chinese family caregivers in Malaysia ascribed to the care they provided to relatives with severe and persistent mental illness.

Advocacy for mental health: Roles for consumers and family organizations and governments
The World Health Organization urges countries to become more active in advocacy efforts to put mental health on governments' agendas. Health policy makers, planners and managers, advocacy groups, consumer and family organizations, through their different roles and actions, can move the mental health agenda forward. This paper outlines the importance of the advocacy movement, describes some of the roles and functions of the different groups and identifies some specific actions that can be adopted by Ministries of Health.

Psychiatric illness and family stigma
This study examines the perceptions of and reactions to stigma among 156 parents and spouses of a population-based sample of first-admission psychiatric patients.

Working with young people: The impact of mental health awareness programmes in schools in the UK and Canada
The persistent and disabling nature of psychiatric stigma has led to the establishment of global programmes to challenge the negative stereotypes and discriminatory responses that generate social disability, but these initiatives are rarely evaluated. This study compares the effectiveness of school-based interventions with young people aged 14-16 aimed at increasing mental health literacy and challenging negative stereotypes associated with severe mental illness in sites in Canada and the UK.

Words have power: (Re)-defining serious emotional disturbance for American Indian and Alaska Native children and their families
Circles of Care grantees were provided the opportunity to develop a locally relevant definition of serious emotional disturbance (SED) that would be used to define what type of emotional, behavioral, and mental disability would be required to receive services. The definitions for SED developed by rural grantees included American Indian and Alaska Native concepts specific to each tribal community?s culture.

Appropriate language in discussing mental illness
A brief article discussing the use of appropriate language, when discussing mental illnesses. Following these suggestions can help to communicate acceptance and understanding.

Stigma impact on Moroccan families of patients with schizophrenia
The study was conducted among 100 family members accompanying patients with schizophrenia. Study used a heteroquestionnaire that inquired about family members' and patients' sociodemographic data, family members' knowledge of the patients' illness, their attitudes and behaviours toward the patient, and their perception of stigma

Treatment delay in first-episode nonaffective psychosis: A pilot study with African American family members and the theory of planned behavior
This pilot study examined associations between three central constructs of the theory of planned behavior and the length of treatment delay among patients hospitalized for a first episode of nonaffective psychosis.

Personal accounts: Help-seeking preferences of high school students: The impact of personal narratives.
Based on the author's personal experience with mental illness, she initiated a study to examine help-seeking behavior of adolescents and if an educational presentation aided in this behavior.

Perception of stigma among family members of individuals with schizophrenia and major affective disorders in rural Ethiopia
This study aimed to estimate the extent and socio-demographic distribution of stigma as perceived by relatives of mentally ill individuals in rural Ethiopia.

Church-based support groups for African American families coping with mental illness: Outreach and outcomes
This study examined the outreach efforts used to provide information about support groups to congregants as well as the participation outcomes reported by families who attended support group meetings.

Beliefs about causation of schizophrenia: Do Indian families believe in supernatural causes?
Beliefs about the causation of schizophrenia could influence the attitudes patients' families adopt towards the patient and may also influence their help-seeking behaviour. Indian families have been typically described as often believing in causes like supernatural forces and therefore seeking help from magico-religious healers. In the changing mental health scenario in India, this impression needs verification.

Shifting blame away from ill relatives: Latino families' reactions to schizophrenia
The present study examined attributions, emotions, and help-giving of 24 relatively unacculturated Latino-Americans toward a family member with schizophrenia.

Complementary spiritual beliefs in the Latino community: The interface with psychotherapy
This article is intended to help non-Latino mental health practitioners develop a level of understanding and respect for other spiritual traditions, as well as achieve the adjustment of clinical techniques necessary for better cultural responsiveness to patients who hold such beliefs.

"How much more can we lose?": Carer and family perspectives on living with a person with depression
This study was designed with the objective of exploring the experiences of careers and families of people with depression.

Stigma as a barrier to recovery: The extent to which caregivers believe most people devalue consumers and their families
This study was conducted to measure the extent to which 461 caregivers of persons with serious mental disorders believed that most people devalue consumers and their families was assessed, and the magnitude of the relationships between these beliefs and the diagnostic status of consumers was estimated.

Causes of schizophrenia reported by patients' family members in China
This study was conducted to develop a quantitative measure suitable for assessing the relationship of causal beliefs to expressed emotion, stigma, care-seeking and adherence.

Sources of burdens on families of individuals with mental illness
This study set out to explore the relationship between stigma, accessibility of mental health facilities and family burden through individual interviews of patients' relatives in order to understand the burden on mentally ill patients' relatives from their perspectives.

Effects of an educational program on public attitudes towards mental illness
The World Psychiatric Association promotes global anti-stigma programs. However, evaluation research is crucial to developing effective programs. The present study examined the effects of a lecture on mental health on public attitudes towards mental illness. Subjects were recruited from individuals employed by private companies and the government. Attitudes towards mental illness were measured using the Mental Illness and Disorder Understanding Scale developed by the authors and the Scale of Negative Attitudes Towards the Independence of People with Mental Disorders. Test scores obtained before and after the lecture were compared. The results demonstrated that scores on both scales improved significantly. The present study suggests the effectiveness of this type of educational program in reducing stigma attached to mental illness and disorder.

Diagnostic attributions versus labeling: Impact of Alzheimer's disease and major depression diagnoses on emotions, beliefs, and helping intentions of family members
Labeling theory suggests that applying disease labels to behavior may serve to medicalize deviance and produce stigma. Participants rated their emotional responses, attributions, and willingness to help.

A family's painful journey
This article discusses the issues faced in Maryland in seeking assistance for children with severe mental illness. It focuses on State budget cuts for wraparound mental health coverage. 

Behavioral health care needs of rural women
This report attempts to direct attention to this underrepresented group and presents a review of the literature related to the behavioral health care needs of rural women. With this knowledge, psychologists and other health professionals will be able to more effectively plan and deliver services to this population.

Changing middle schoolers' attitudes about mental illness through education
An article discussing the effectiveness of a curriculum supplement for middle school assessing their knowledge and attitudes about mental illness.

Focus on women: Mothers with mental illness: I: The competing demands of parenting and living with mental illness
The purpose of this study is to understand the parenting experiences of women with mental illness from the perspectives of mothers and case managers employed by the state department of mental health.

Report of the Surgeon General's conference on children's mental health: A national action agenda
This report introduces a blueprint for addressing children's mental health needs in the United States.

Mental illness: The moral imperative
A sermon in which a rabbi discusses the push to educate Jewish congregations about mental illness and to advocate for enhanced resources to care for individuals with mental illnesses.

Drop the stigma: To keep kids from lashing out, parents must urge them to accept help
An article in which Tipper Gore addresses the need for parents and adults to "erase the stigma that prevents our kids from getting the help they need for their mental health."

Stigmatizing media images affect children
Although research has revealed that nearly one in five adolescents experience a psychiatric problem, most, including those who acknowledge and express concern about those problems, do not seek professional help. One factor that contributes to this troubling statistic is stigma. The negative attitudes about mental illnesses that pervade public thinking are hardly exclusive to the adult population. This article discusses children, mental illness, and stigma. It specifically examines how children are affected by the images they see in the media, resulting in stigmatizing views towards mental illness.

Spirituality important to African Americans in treating depression
Brief article discussing study results that demonstrated that "African Americans were three times more likely than whites to rate spirituality as an extremely important dimension of depression care."

Children's beliefs about people labeled mentally ill
A group of 104 third-grade students told stories in response to pictures of adults labeled mentally ill, physically disabled, or unlabeled, and answered questions regarding expected behavior of these adults. Results indicate that children of this age hold more overall negative attitudes about adults labeled mentally ill than about those designated as physically disabled or nondisabled.

The paradox of self-stigma and mental illness
?Published narratives by persons with serious mental illness eloquently describe the harmful effects of stigma on self-esteem and self-efficacy. However, a more careful review of the research literature suggests a paradox; namely, personal reactions to the stigma of mental illness may result in significant loss in self-esteem for some, while others are energized by prejudice and express righteous anger.?

Family burden and family stigma in major mental illness
Article discusses the stresses and burdens on families of mentally ill individuals, including stigmatization, and problems in dealing with mental health professionals.

Faith communities care about mental illness
A brief article discussing a video teleconference, "Mental Illness: Paint a Different Picture," held November 10, 1998, sponsored by United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries Health and Relief, the Board of Church and Society, Pathways to Promise, and United Methodist Communications.

Consumer experience of stigma: A national survey
This article summarizes the results of a nationwide survey of 1,301 mental health consumers concerning their experience of stigma and discrimination.

Data trends, summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. No. 60
This article presents the results of a study of premature termination patterns among residents of the United States and Ontario using mental health services.

Childhood revealed: Art expressing pain, discovery and hope
An overview of the book created by the New York University Child Study Center to help people overcome the stigmas attached to child psychiatric illness. The book contains over 100 pieces of art created by children from ages 4 through 18 who have a mental illness or have experienced a difficult life circumstance.

Children trapped by gaps in treatment of mental illness
A brief article in which the author addresses the need to close "the gap in mental health care," which "requires changes in attitudes and development of resources by all who care for children - families, schools, communities, health care agencies, the government, and children themselves."

The church's voice on mental illness
Opinion article discussing the need for the proper education of congregations in response to the needs of individuals with mental illnesses.

Why do Christians shoot their wounded?: Helping (not hurting) those with emotional difficulties
"Although its title refers to Christians, this book addresses biases and misinformation that are not unique to Christian communities. Dwight Carlson, a physician and psychiatrist, wrote this book to enable pastoral care providers and others to gain a new perspective on mental and emotional illness."

O'Clair family, advocates kick-off Timothy's Law campaign
A press release discussing the campaign kick-off to enact legislation that would end the discrimination faced by thousands of individuals living with mental illness and chemical dependency throughout New York State.

Stigma and expressed emotion: A study of people with schizophrenia and their family members in China
This study was conducted to explore the factors that mediate patients' emotional and cognitive responses to stigma.

Neuroscience and mental health education: A multimedia curriculum and teacher education project for middle school children
This study evaluated a mental health and drug awareness program for fifth grade students presented by the Hult and Crown Health Education Centers (HHEC and CHEC).

Student mental health: Secondary education no more
A brief article discussing the increase in students who are reporting more mental health problems and how college campuses are responding to the growing need.

Walking through the valley: Understanding and emerging from clergy depression
A book aimed at helping "clergy and those who work with them grasp the seriousness of depression, and see the signs that one is entering a depressed state," specifically addressing the stigma that is encountered within the clergy when faced with depression.