Mental health stigma remains a significant barrier to treatment for many individuals experiencing conditions such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia (Thornicroft et al., 2016; Clement et al., 2015). Individuals experiencing mental illness who perceive greater stigma often do not seek treatment due to fear of judgment, embarrassment, and damage to their self-esteem (Eisenberg et al., 2009). Furthermore, stigma impedes integration into society and reducing life opportunities through discrimination in domains like employment, education, housing, and health care (Corrigan et al., 2014; Link & Phelan, 2001). Despite decades of anti-stigma campaigns, widespread negative attitudes persist regarding mental illness. Continued research is needed to deepen understanding of stigma sources and mechanisms to effectively reduce the barrier to help-seeking and improve quality of life for individuals experiencing these potentially debilitating conditions.
The current study aimed to examine factors contributing to mental health stigma and test the effectiveness of two interventions—psychoeducation and personal storytelling—in reducing stigma and improving attitudes toward help-seeking. University students (N = 210) from a mid-sized western university were recruited through the SONA research participation system. Participants first completed four measures assessing baseline stigma and attitudes: the Opening Minds Scale for Healthcare Providers (OMS-HC; modifed for laypersons), Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form (ASPPHS-SF), Perceptions of Stigmatization by Others for Seeking Help (PSOSH), and Social Distance Scale (SDS).
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) a Psychoeducation condition where they viewed an evidence-based 15-minute presentation about mental illness etiology, prevalence, treatment, and recovery, 2) a Personal Storytelling condition where they viewed two 5-minute video testimonials from individuals sharing their experience of overcoming mental illness stigma and successfully seeking help, or 3) a no-intervention Control group. Immediately after and one month following the intervention/control session, participants again completed the four stigma and attitudes measures. Mental health literacy was also assessed post-intervention with a 15-item true/false questionnaire developed by the researchers.
A series of two-way repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to examine changes in stigma and attitudes over time (pre-post and pre-follow up) between conditions. Results indicated that both the Psychoeducation and Personal Storytelling interventions led to significant reductions in self-stigma (OMS-HC) and perceptions of public stigma (PSOSH) compared to the Control condition from pre- to post-test and pre-test to follow up. Only Personal Storytelling led to a significant increase in positive attitudes toward help-seeking (ASPPHS-SF) and decreased social distance (SDS) that was maintained at follow up relative to the other conditions. Both interventions improved mental health literacy relative to Controls.
Additional moderation analyses explored individual difference factors that may influence intervention effectiveness. Baseline experience with mental illness through family/friends and personal mental health history strengthened the impact of both interventions, while authoritarian attitudes and beliefs undermined stigma reduction especially for Psychoeducation. Exploratory sequential analyses further revealed authoritarianism predicted weaker response to Psychoeducation but not Storytelling, providing initial support for Storytelling as a broader reaching approach.
The current study extends prior experimental research by directly comparing two established but rarely tested interventions—psychoeducation and personal storytelling. Both hold promise as scalable strategies to reduce widespread mental health stigma, though personal accounts may foster more sustained positive attitude change and increased willingness to engage with individuals experiencing mental illness. Continued efforts are needed to develop and disseminate effective multi-component programs targeting stigma at broader societal and structural levels in addition to changing individual attitudes. Future research could expand to examine workplace, medical, and community-based stigma reduction programs as well as longitudinal outcomes like actual help-seeking behavior. Overall, results support harnessing personal experiences to promote understanding, empathy, and support for those facing the daily challenges of mental illness.