Not on Skid Row: Stigma Reduction in Addiction Treatment Organizations

Abstract

We studied the discursive processes through which core stigmatized organizations attempt to reduce their stigma by analyzing the websites of addiction treatment organizations. While it is well accepted that organizational stigma is socially constructed, there has not been much explicit attention to how language contributes to the construction, maintenance, and deconstruction of stigma. We contribute to the nascent literature on organizational destigmatization by focusing on the process through which stigma can be deconstructed through rhetoric. Based on our discursive findings, we theorize four ways that core stigmatized organizations can reduce their stigma: (1) Reconstructing the underlying cause of stigma; (2) Emphasizing similarities with social expectations; (3) Separating from stigma; (4) Collaborating with other actors in the field. In doing so, we contribute to the ongoing discussion of the relationship between stigma and legitimacy by showing how destigmatizing and legitimating tactics were intertwined.