The soft stigma: hidden manifestations of mental health workers' stigma against people experiencing mental illness

Abstract

The stigma surrounding mental illness is one of the most intractable obstacles in the mental health field because it has so many causes, some primarily social and some related to other factors. There have been concerted efforts to reduce this stigma, but most of them are directed at the community and not toward mental health workers. Studies have investigated the experience of stigma by users of mental health services and the stigma attitudes of the general public, but little attention has been paid to the attitudes of mental health professionals. This article discussed hidden aspects of this stigma of mental health workers that often go unnoticed despite their harmful effects on patients, workers, and the mental health field in general. Six main manifestations were discussed in this article, which have significant effect on the interactions between the mental health field and the patients. Researching and highlighting these hidden manifestations would raise awareness of mental health workers' actions and language, benefiting society in general.