Addressing self-stigma in mental health treatment

The stigma surrounding mental illness continues to silence voices and hinder healing. Of Americans surveyed, 70% to 90% recognized that there is a negative societal perception of individuals with mental illness, with higher numbers stigmatized against those with more serious conditions (McCreary et al., 2024). The fact that people with mental illness are often denounced by society is obvious to most occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs), and another article focused on dissecting this aspect of our culture may not compel continued reading. Yet, there’s a related stigma that’s often overlooked—the stigma that people with serious mental illness (SMI) hold against themselves and their peers. High levels of self-stigma have been reported in up to 40% of this population (Shih et al., 2022). OTPs must closely examine the impact of self-stigma on clients’ occupational performance and address this negative view when providing interventions.