Is "me-search" a kiss of death in mental health research?

Abstract

Applicants to graduate school in clinical psychology are warned against disclosing something in their application that could be the "kiss of death," information that by itself causes admissions committees to reject otherwise strong applicants. Specifically, several renowned authorities warn applicants against disclosing a lived experience with, or close connection to, psychopathology. This state of affairs seems counterintuitive. At least some people who pursue research in clinical psychology do so, in part, because they have a lived experience with mental illness. This pursuit is termed self-relevant research, which is also known by the pejorative label me-search. Mental health professionals with lived experience are sometimes referred to as "prosumers." There are anecdotal accounts of stigma toward self-relevant research in clinical psychology, but despite the important professional stakes at hand (e.g., gaining admissions into a graduate program), there is a lack systematic documentation of such experiences. To fill this research gap, I use a scholarly personal narrative to facilitate a scholarly conversation about this topic. I reflect upon my own experiences with stigma for when I, a depression researcher, shared my personal connections to depression in my family. This narrative calls for inquiry on self-relevant research and questions biases against this pursuit; for example, the assumption that self-relevant research hinders objectivity. Noting exemplars of people conducting self-relevant research in clinical psychology (e.g., Marsha Linehan), encouraging a more robust practice of self-relevant research, may help combat psychopathology stigma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).