Search

One of the major obstacles to seeking psychological help is the stigma associated with counseling and therapy. Self-stigma, the fear of losing self-respect or self-esteem as a result of seeking help, is an important factor in the help-seeking process. In the present study, college students meeting a clinical cutoff for psychological symptoms participated in 1 session of group counseling that either contained therapist self-disclosure or did not. In general, participants reported significantly less self-stigma following the session. Working alliance-bond and session depth significantly predicted the change in self-stigma. Furthermore, self-stigma (as well as bond, depth, psychological symptoms, and being female) predicted the intention to seek help following the session. Self-stigma and session depth also predicted interest in continuing with counseling. The therapist self-disclosure condition, however, had no effect on the change in self-stigma, intentions to seek help, or interest in continuing with group counseling. (Contains 3 tables and 3 footnotes.)

Given the dramatic rates of mental health concerns among military veterans, more needs to be done to connect wounded warriors to the resources available to them. Through focus groups with veterans of the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) conflicts (N = 30) we sought to understand the current post-deployment difficulties, barriers to seeking mental health care, and possible intervention methods for reducing those barriers. Post-deployment difficulties involved troubles relating to others, psychological difficulties, and behavioral or physical problems. Help-seeking barriers included stigma and concerns about the therapy process. Participants' perspectives on ways to reduce those barriers to seeking help have implications for clinicians' approach to therapy and outreach with veterans and can inform the development of larger-scale intervention efforts that could be tested through future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major obstacles to seeking psychological help is the stigma associated with counseling and therapy. Self-stigma, the fear of losing self-respect or self-esteem as a result of seeking help, is an important factor in the help-seeking process. In the present study, college students meeting a clinical cutoff for psychological symptoms participated in 1 session of group counseling that either contained therapist self-disclosure or did not. In general, participants reported significantly less self-stigma following the session. Working alliance-bond and session depth significantly predicted the change in self-stigma. Furthermore, self-stigma (as well as bond, depth, psychological symptoms, and being female) predicted the intention to seek help following the session. Self-stigma and session depth also predicted interest in continuing with counseling. The therapist self-disclosure condition, however, had no effect on the change in self-stigma, intentions to seek help, or interest in continuing with group counseling., (2011 APA, all rights reserved)