Written Off: Mental Health Stigma and the Loss of Human Potential

Description

Written-Off tells the story of how mental health stigma comes to have a profound impact on the lives of people diagnosed with mental illnesses. It reviews theory, research, and history - illustrated with a multitude of personal stories - in four major areas. These areas are: the prevalence and predictors of negative attitudes and behaviors toward mental illness, the impact of community attitudes and behaviors on the self-perceptions of people diagnosed with mental illness, the impact of self-perceptions on the community participation of people diagnosed with mental illness, and how to change self-perceptions through a variety of approaches.

Philip T. Yanos, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at John Jay College, City University of New York. He is an Associate Editor for the journal Stigma and Health, and the interim Director of Clinical Training for the clinical psychology Ph.D. program at John Jay College. Yanos is the co-developer of 'Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy', a group-based treatment which addresses the effects of self-stigma among people with mental illness. This treatment approach has been translated into five languages. He is the author of over eighty articles and book chapters, and is the principal investigator on two recent large, federally-funded projects.

'Mental health stigma is an issue of social injustice. Professor Yanos eloquently captures inequities wrought by stigma, grounding solutions where they belong, in the hands of people with lived experience.' Patrick W. Corrigan, Illinois Institute of Technology 'In a scholarly and compassionate analysis, Yanos eloquently documents the stigma of mental illness, who is most likely to stigmatize, and the heavy toll of stigma on people with psychiatric conditions and their families. And yet, a solid foundation for hope is also laid through the discussion of recent developments in peer support and treatment that have the promise of helping people with mental health challenges overcome the effects of stigma, reclaim a sense of worth in their own eyes and that of society, and realize their true human potential. This should be required reading for all students, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers working in the mental health profession.' Kim T. Mueser, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University 'This extraordinary book perfectly balances scholarly skepticism and honesty with human and relatable narrative. The reader becomes a student of stigma, aspiring to reduce stigma's toxic impact.' Lisa Dixon, Columbia University, New York '... a captivating and well-researched book on the history, foundation, and most importantly, the effects of stigma about mental illness ... I highly recommend you read this book to both read more of the stories and to find out how the strategies mentioned [in the book] work.' Kurt Sass, New York City Voices 'This timely and much-needed volume helps dispel the many myths surrounding mental health and illness and offers insights valuable to health professionals and students alike.' K. Liu, Choice '... a carefully elaborated social analysis of stigma.' translated from Tijdschrift voor Psychiatrie 'This book is a rich garden for understanding stigma, encouraging creative thinking regarding addressing it, and engaging one's own story in a narrative that is a deepening of one's parenthood. This is the new manual for navigating the currents of mental health stigma.' Steven A. Ingram, Voices