The Prevalence of Destigmatization of Mental Health in Undergraduate Psychopathology Courses

Abstract

Objective This study examines psychopathology class syllabi to assess if instructors are explicitly referencing destigmatization in their courses. Method We surveyed N = 31 instructors about their opinions on psychopathology classes being an avenue for redressing mental health stigma and qualitatively analyzed N = 29 syllabi to identify these explicit goals. Results Instructors generally believe these courses should redress stigma, that destigmatization should be a main course objective, and that they personally facilitate these discussions in their class. However, only 17% of syllabi had direct references to reducing stigma in their learning outcomes or course description. Conclusion Principles of undergraduate education implore instructors to thoughtfully integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into their courses, including sensitive discussion of mental health and illness. We discuss possible reasons for the discrepancy between instructors’ voiced objectives and what is listed in their syllabi and offer ideas to make redressing stigma a more salient goal. Teaching Implications Given the themes of psychopathology courses, these instructors are in a unique position to redress stigma regarding mental health. To make an instructor's goal of destigmatization salient, we implore them to list such goals in their syllabi, which our research found was not common.