# Presentation: 130784

## SAMHSA’s National 
Anti-Stigma Campaign
First Workgroup Meeting

- Anti-Stigma Campaign
- First Workgroup Meeting

**April 25, 2005 **
**Rockville, MD**

***A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed., Director***
***Center for Mental Health Services***

## Prevalence of Mental and Other Illnesses

- Estimated number of millions of Americans affected1

**44**

**9.8**

**13.4**

**23**

- Sources: Cancer, National Cancer Institute (2001 data);
- diabetes and heart disease, National Center for Health Statistics (2002 data); mental illnesses, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (any given year).

## An estimated 22 percent of Americans ages 18 and older have a diagnosable mental health problem 

- But. . .
- The majority of those with a diagnosable mental health problem do not seek treatment

## Recovery is a process or a journey, sometimes lifelong, through which a person achieves independence, self-esteem, and a meaningful life in the community 

## Goal 1

**Recommendations**
- 1.1 — Advance and implement a national campaign to reduce the stigma of seeking care and a national strategy for suicide prevention
- 1.2 — Address mental health with the same urgency as physical health

**Americans Understand That Mental **
**Health Is Essential to Overall Health**

## Stigma: a cluster of negative attitudes and beliefs that motivate the general public to fear, reject, avoid, and discriminate against people with mental illnesses

- Source: *Achieving the Promise: *
*Transforming Mental Health Care in America*

## A Perspective on Stigma

**A Perspective on Stigma**

| Cultural Viewse.g., about mental disorders | Expecta-tions“People with schizophrenia are unpredictable“
 | Selective Attentionto those instances when behavior seems odd | Changes in Behaviore.g., keep social distance and be suspiciousof person with mental disorders | Effects on the persone.g., shame, guilt, and depressed mood
 | Self-fulfilling ProphecyStigmatized person may act uncomfortable or withdraw in social settings, thus confirming the original expectation
 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

- Source: Adapted from “Disfigurement and Self-Esteem,” lecture by Dr. G. Kent, Department of Psychiatry, Northern General Hospital, Australia

## A Model of Recovery

**A Model of Recovery**

| Cultural Viewsabout mental health problems | Expecta-tionsMental health problems are treatable and recovery is possible
 | Selective Attentionto growing evidence of
self-direction and self-sufficiency among consumers | Changes in Behavior
Fair and equal access to housing, jobs, and meaningful relationships with others | Effects on the personEmpowerment and hope in recovery | Self-fulfilling ProphecyGreater opportunities for recovery and a full life in the community |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

## Discrimination: Prejudicial treatment, specifically actions or policies that undermine the welfare of a particular group 

## The Evidence of Discrimination

- Only about one in three persons with a serious mental illness is employed—the lowest rate of employment for any group with a disability
- Thousands of persons are homeless, unable to afford adequate housing or to access the services and supports associated with a stable address

## The Evidence of Discrimination

- Thousands of families have given up custody of their children in exchange for mental health care

- Thirty-eight percent of Americans are unwilling to be friends with a person experiencing mental difficulties

## The Consequences of Discrimination

- Lost hope in recovery and the promise of a full life in the community

*Hope in Recovery/*
*Life in the Community*

## Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

- —Nelson Mandela