Psychiatrists’ self-stigma, the DGPPN guideline for psychosocial interventions, and contemporary treatment strategies

Excerpt

Gaebel et al. [1] summarize the results of a survey conducted by the WPA task force on destigmatization, which assessed the extent to which the stigma of mental illness affects psychiatrists compared to general practitioners in 12 countries. The questionnaire presented to 1893 psychiatrists and 1238 general practitioners comprised perceived stigma, self-stigma (stereotype agreement), attitudes toward the other profession and experienced discrimination. Compared to general practitioners, psychiatrists reported significantly higher stigma and discrimination experiences. Additionally, perceived stigma in psychiatrists correlated best with discrimination experiences and self-stigma, whereas in general practitioners with self-stigma alone. Moreover, about 17 % of, by the majority, younger psychiatrists regarded stigma as a serious problem of their profession. Thus, existing antistigma interventions for mental health professionals and students need to be enhanced to raise awareness of own stigmatizing attitudes and to improve professional-related self-assertiveness. …