Managing Stigma Effectively: What Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience Can Teach Us.
Abstract
Psychiatric education is confronted with three barriers to managing stigma associated
with mental health treatment. First, there are limited evidence-based practices for
stigma reduction, and interventions to deal with stigma against mental health care
providers are especially lacking. Second, there is a scarcity of training models for
mental health professionals on how to reduce stigma in clinical services. Third, there
is a lack of conceptual models for neuroscience approaches to stigma reduction, which
are a requirement for high-tier competency in the ACGME Milestones for Psychiatry.
The George Washington University (GWU) psychiatry residency program has developed
an eight-week course on managing stigma that is based on social psychology and social
neuroscience research. The course draws upon social neuroscience research demonstrating
that stigma is a normal function of normal brains resulting from evolutionary processes
in human group behavior. Based on these processes, stigma can be categorized according
to different threats that include peril stigma, disruption stigma, empathy fatigue,
moral stigma, and courtesy stigma. Grounded in social neuroscience mechanisms, residents
are taught to develop interventions to manage stigma. Case examples illustrate application
to common clinical challenges: (1) helping patients anticipate and manage stigma encountered
in the family, community, or workplace; (2) ameliorating internalized stigma among
patients; (3) conducting effective treatment from a stigmatized position due to prejudice
from medical colleagues or patients' family members; and (4) facilitating patient
treatment plans when stigma precludes engagement with mental health professionals.
This curriculum addresses the need for educating trainees to manage stigma in clinical
settings. Future studies are needed to evaluate changes in clinical practices and
patient outcomes as a result of social neuroscience-based training on managing stigma.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Curriculum developmentNeurosciences
Residents
Curriculum
Humans
Internship and Residency
Neurosciences
Physicians
Psychiatry
Psychology, Social
Social Stigma
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10955Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s40596-015-0391-0Publication Info
Griffith, James L; & Kohrt, Brandon A (2016). Managing Stigma Effectively: What Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience Can Teach
Us. Acad Psychiatry, 40(2). pp. 339-347. 10.1007/s40596-015-0391-0. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10955.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Brandon A. Kohrt
Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Brandon Kohrt is a medical anthropologist and psychiatrist who completed his MD-PhD
at Emory University in 2009. He is currently Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Global
Health, and Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. Dr. Kohrt has worked in Nepal
since 1996 researching and aiding victims of war including child soldiers. Since 2006
has worked with Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal. Dr. Kohrt has
been a consultant to The Carter Center Mental Health Program Liberia Init

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