Acceptance Of Mental Illness

Recently there has been a growing awareness of the process of recovery from serious mental illness and the importance of coming to terms with the challenges resulting from the illness. Acceptance of one's mental illness is a critical milestone of the recovery journey, fostering empowerment, hope, and self-determination. In addition, there has been a developing interest in the role of culture in influencing the experience of mental illness, treatment, and recovery. Yet, the topic of how people with diverse cultural backgrounds come to recognize and cope with their mental illness is often overlooked in the literature. Acceptance of Mental Illness adheres to a recovery-oriented philosophy that understands recovery as not simply symptom elimination, but as the process of living a meaningful and satisfying life with mental illness. The book synthesizes research on this topic and offers extensive case histories gathered by the authors to provide readers with an understanding of the multidimensional process of acceptance of mental illness across genders, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. The aim is for clinical readers to be better equipped to support people with mental illness across culturally diverse groups to experience empowerment, mental wellness, and growth. Chapters focus on providing a historical overview of the treatment of people with mental illness, examining the acceptance process, and exploring the experience of acceptance among women, men, racial-ethnic minorities, and LGBT individuals with serious mental illnesses. The book is a useful tool for mental health educators and providers, with each chapter containing case studies, clinical strategies lists, discussion questions, experiential activities, diagrams, and worksheets that can be completed with clients, students, and peers.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

A comprehensive and groundbreaking workbook addressing the stigma and distorted self-image issues experienced by those suffering with mental illness.

Recently there has been a growing awareness of the process of recovery from serious mental illness and the importance of coming to terms with the challenges resulting from the illness. Acceptance of one's mental illness is a critical milestone of the recovery journey, fostering empowerment, hope, and self-determination. In addition, there has been a developing interest in the role of culture in influencing the experience of mental illness, treatment, and recovery. Yet, the topic of how people with diverse cultural backgrounds come to recognize and cope with their mental illness is often overlooked in the literature. Acceptance of Mental Illness adheres to a recovery-oriented philosophy that understands recovery as not simply symptom elimination, but as the process of living a meaningful and satisfying life with mental illness. The book synthesizes research on this topic and offers extensive case histories gathered by the authors to provide readers with an understanding of the multidimensional process of acceptance of mental illness across genders, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. The aim is for clinical readers to be better equipped to support people with mental illness across culturally diverse groups to experience empowerment, mental wellness, and growth. Chapters focus on providing a historical overview of the treatment of people with mental illness, examining the acceptance process, and exploring the experience of acceptance among women, men, racial-ethnic minorities, and LGBT individuals with serious mental illnesses. The book is a useful tool for mental health educators and providers, with each chapter containing case studies, clinical strategies lists, discussion questions, experiential activities, diagrams, and worksheets that can be completed with clients, students, and peers.

Bringing together treatment and referral advice from existing guidelines, this text aims to improve access to services and recognition of common mental health disorders in adults and provide advice on the principles that need to be adopted to develop appropriate referral and local care pathways.

In the fall of 2016, Sarasota Herald-Tribune staff writer Carrie Seidman launched an art/ journalism project, in conjunction with her fellowship from the Carter Center for Mental Health Journalism, aimed at eliminating prejudice against individuals with mental illness. FACEing Mental Illness: The Art of Acceptance invited individuals within the community with a mental health condition of any kind, to create a self-portrait exploring their feelings about their challenges. A series of free workshops were held monthly, where art supplies and professional guidance were available to all. Many participants also chose to share their mental health journeys in depth, through interviews and in videos, and their stories ran weekly in the Herald-Tribune. Hundreds of community members volunteered time or gave generously to help underwrite the costs of the supplies, workshops, transportation and a film documenting the project's progress. Dozens of local business contributed in-kind services, from framing to refreshments. The project culminated with a month-long exhibition of all the project artwork at the Selby Public Library in downtown Sarasota in March 2017. In the following pages, you will find many of the stories and most of the artwork created for the project. It is our hope that community efforts like this one will help change our culture's attitudes about mental illness and promote better mental health for everyone. Portraits by Sarasota Herald-Tribune photojournalists Artwork photography by Wayne Eastep

This book is a collection of writings on how society has stigmatized mentally ill persons, their families, and their caregivers. First-hand accounts poignantly portray what it is like to be the victim of stigma and mental illness. Stigma and Mental Illness also presents historical, societal, and institutional viewpoints that underscore the devastating effects of stigma.