False beliefs about mental illness can cause significant problems. Learn what you can do about stigma. Stigma is when someone views you in a negative way because you have a distinguishing characteristic or personal trait that’s thought to be, or actually is, a disadvantage (a negative stereotype). Unfortunately, negative attitudes and beliefs toward people who have a mental health condition are common.
Stigma can lead to discrimination. Discrimination may be obvious and direct, such as someone making a negative remark about your mental illness or your treatment. Or it may be unintentional or subtle, such as someone avoiding you because the person assumes you could be unstable, violent or dangerous due to your mental illness. You may even judge yourself.
Some Of The Harmful Effects Of Stigma Can Include:
Reluctance To Seek Help Or Treatment
Lack of understanding by family, friends, co-workers or others. Fewer opportunities for work, school or social activities or trouble finding housing
Bullying, Physical Violence Or Harassment
Health insurance that doesn’t adequately cover your mental illness treatment. The belief that you’ll never succeed at certain challenges or that you can’t improve your situation
Steps To Cope With Stigma
Here are some ways you can deal with stigma:
Get Treatment
You may be reluctant to admit you need treatment. Don’t let the fear of being labeled with a mental illness prevent you from seeking help. Treatment can provide relief by identifying what’s wrong and reducing symptoms that interfere with your work and personal life.
Don’t Let Stigma Create Self-Doubt And Shame
Stigma doesn’t just come from others. You may mistakenly believe that your condition is a sign of personal weakness or that you should be able to control it without help. Seeking counseling, educating yourself about your condition and connecting with others who have mental illness can help you gain self-esteem and overcome destructive self-judgment.
Don’t Isolate Yourself
If you have a mental illness, you may be reluctant to tell anyone about it. Your family, friends, clergy or members of your community can offer you support if they know about your mental illness. Reach out to people you trust for the compassion, support and understanding you need.
Don’t equate yourself with your illness. You are not an illness. So instead of saying I’m bipolar, say I have bipolar disorder. Instead of calling yourself a schizophrenic, say I have schizophrenia.
Join A Support Group
Some local and national groups, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), offer local programs and internet resources that help reduce stigma by educating people who have mental illness, their families and the general public. Some state and federal agencies and programs, such as those that focus on vocational rehabilitation and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), offer support for people with mental illness.
Get Help At School
If you or your child has a mental illness that affects learning, find out what plans and programs might help. Discrimination against students because of a mental illness is against the law, and educators at primary, secondary and college levels are required to accommodate students as best they can. Talk to teachers, professors or administrators about the best approach and resources. If a teacher doesn’t know about a student’s disability, it can lead to discrimination, barriers to learning and poor grades.
Speak Out Against Stigma
Consider expressing your opinions at events, in letters to the editor or on the internet. It can help instill courage in others facing similar challenges and educate the public about mental illness.
Others’ judgments almost always stem from a lack of understanding rather than information based on facts. Learning to accept your condition and recognize what you need to do to treat it, seeking support, and helping educate others can make a big difference.
What Is Art Therapy, And How Does It Work?
The old saying, A picture is worth a thousand words, reflects the powerful effect that the arts and creative expression have on human understanding and communication. Art therapy works to harness that power for therapeutic means.
Just as a painting or a piece of music can say something in ways that almost defy description, art therapy provides individuals facing physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges with new pathways toward understanding and self-expression.
People do not have to be artists or even good at art to benefit from art therapy. This form of treatment is more than an art class or just something to keep people occupied. Art therapy uses the power of the arts and different modes of communication to get people to open up and engage with their therapy in new ways, which may enhance healing of all kinds. Keep reading to learn more about art therapy and other forms of creative therapy that may benefit people experiencing mental health issues.
What Is Art Therapy?
According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a kind of therapy that integrates mental health and human services by using active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience.
Licensed professionals who are trained in both therapy and art conduct these sessions, which are suitable for people of all ages. It is possible to incorporate art therapy into one-on-one sessions, group therapy, and family or couples counseling.
One of the main goals of art therapy is to improve people’s well-being. It can help improve or bring back an individual’s functioning. Art therapy takes place in educational, medical, and rehabilitation settings, as well as in private practices and mental health clinics.
How Does It Work?
People who make art in any form, whether they consider themselves artists or not, are taking part in a process of self-discovery that gives them a safe space to express their feelings. Furthermore, it allows them to feel more in control over their life. This creative process is enjoyable in its own right, but this is not the only activity that goes on in an art therapy session.
In an art therapy session, an individual may do some of the following exercises:
Painting
Drawing
finger painting
working with clay
carving
sculpting
doodling and scribbling
making collages
Although these exercises take place under the guidance of an art therapist, what emerges should be the unfiltered responses of the individual. Understanding them can promote mental health and well-being.
To unpack this understanding, the individual and their art therapist will discuss the artwork. They will explore what objects, people, and images do and do not appear in it.
Origins
Although art has been an integral part of the human experience for thousands of years, the practice of art therapy is a relatively new development, with an artist from the United Kingdom first describing it in the 1940s.
Key thinkers came to the field from backgrounds in education, the visual arts, and psychotherapy. The mother of art therapy, Margaret Naumburg, became influenced by the first wave of psychoanalytic theory in the early 20th century. She believed that through the creative process, individuals brought to light unconscious thoughts and feelings that they might have repressed.
She felt that when individuals talked through this creative process with a therapist, they could come to understand what their artwork was revealing to them about themselves. This understanding would, in turn, promote psychological healing. Her writings continue to be influential in the 21st century.
Conditions That It May Benefit
The Art Therapy Credentials Board say that art therapy can address the needs of:
people who experienced trauma, such as combat or a natural disaster
individuals with significant health challenges, including traumatic brain injuries and cancer
people with certain conditions, such as depression, autism, and dementia
Art therapy can help reduce stress and anxiety for people living with pain. In addition, experts say that the practice may be useful for people living with other conditions, such as:
Anxiety
Eating disorders, alongside standard treatments
substance use disordersTrusted Source
Stress
Practitioners say that art therapy can also help people enhance specific skills by:
• improving their approach to conflict resolution
• enhancing social skills
• managing stress
• strengthening their ability to self-regulate
• improving their understanding of themselves
In children
Researchers have found that art therapy can be helpful for children facing the following specific challenges:
• childhood trauma
• disabilities and special educational needs
• criminal conviction as a juvenile
• chronic asthma
Art therapy can also benefit children who are not dealing with one singular issue but face a variety of challenges in life.
Other Creative Therapies
The visual arts are not the only artistic discipline that it is possible to incorporate into a therapeutic practice.
Other forms of creative therapy include:
Music
Music therapy can involve:
• music-listening sessions
• song and lyric writing
• music in performance
Music therapy may support people with mental health issues, injuries, and Alzheimer’s disease, among other conditions. Some pregnant people may find it helpful during labor.
Dance
Dance therapy employs nonverbal communication to evaluate and treat an individual’s condition.
Drama
An active and experiential process, drama therapy works by helping people express their feelings and build interpersonal skills through storytelling and intentional improvisation.
Poetry
Poetry therapy works to promote healing through expressive writing, such as journaling and therapeutic storytelling.
Expressive Therapy
When additional creative art forms feature as part of a therapeutic process, it is known as expressive therapy.
One study found that adding dance, drama, music, and movement activities to therapy sessions for people with dementia resulted in noticeable improvements in communication, engagement, and pleasure.
