Stigma & Discrimination in Mental Health

This paper discusses the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental illnesses in Australian society and the measures taken by the government to mitigate it.

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ZAKIEH RASOULI, COUN1103 MENTAL HEALTH
Stigma & Discrimination
Zakieh rasouli
Australian College of Applied Psychology

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ZAKIEH RASOULI, COUN1103 MENTAL HEALTH
Discrimination refers to the prejudicial or unjust treatment that the people have to suffer
because of their social or cultural background, health condition, sexual orientation and others
Brouwers et al. (2016). Phalen et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the prominence held by the
concept of mental health can be attributed to the fact that the health of an individual is directly
related to the normal life-functioning of the human beings and also their ability to fulfil the
different roles of their lives in an effective. The problem of mental illness had been looked down
upon by the human society since the traditional times and also the people suffering from it had to
face discrimination and stigma within the society. This paper will discuss the stigma and
discrimination faced by the people suffering from mental illnesses in the Australian society while
highlighting the different measures which have been taken by the Australian government for the
mitigation for the same.
Vistorte et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the different people in Australia hold
diverse opinions regarding the mental illnesses and the opinion held by them can be explained on
the basis of the culture, religion and other attributes of their life. For example, since the
traditional times the idea that mental illnesses are the result of the past evil actions which the
concerned individual have performed reigned prominence (Rozbroj et al., 2015). On the other
hand, the Bible itself mentions various instances during which Christ himself is depicted as
exorcising demons out of the bodies of the individuals which in turn are symbolical
representation of the diverse kinds of mental health illnesses (Krupchanka & Thornicroft, 2017).
However, in the recent times with the advancements in the fields of science and technology the
attitude as well as the perception of the people have undergone a significant amount of change
(Hungerford et al., 2018). The net result of this is that the different forms of mental illnesses are

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no longer seen as a representation of evils but as the manifestation of diverse mental issues that
the individuals which the individuals are facing just like the other forms of illness.
The change in the perception of the people had been greatly brought about by the ‘Fifth
National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan’, ‘National Mental Health Policy’ (2008)
and other initiatives of the national government of Australia. For example, the ‘National Mental
Health Policy 2008’ intends to provide a strategic vision for the effective implementation of
different government reforms regarding the mental health in Australia (Health.gov.au, 2019).
Instead, the ‘Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan’ intended to implement
new reforms for the reduction of suicides undertaken by the mental health patients brought in by
stigma or discrimination that the mental illness patients had to face (Health.gov.au, 2019). In
addition to these, it is seen that the mental health issues like anxiety, clinical depression and
others are among high prevalence in the Australian people whereas the mental health issues of
schizophrenia and others are less in prevalence. As a matter of fact, as per the Beyondblue.org.au
(2019) more than 45% of the people in Australia suffer from one form of mental illness or the
other. Clinical depression is one of the major forms of mental illnesses that afflicts the majority
of the people in Australia (Taubman et al., 2019). As a matter of fact, it is seen that depression is
the 3rd most prominent mental health issue in Australia and is usually accompanied by intense as
well as regular periods of sadness, mood swings, low feeling for prolonged periods of time
without any apparent cause (Health.gov.au, 2019).
People suffering from depression and other forms of mental illnesses had to face various
kinds of discrimination as well as stigma within the society Alley et al. (2017). Furthermore, it is
seen till now any substantial measuring tool had not been developed for the measurement of
discrimination or stigma faced by the individuals. More importantly, it is seen that these

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ZAKIEH RASOULI, COUN1103 MENTAL HEALTH
discriminations and stigmas are not just associated with societal behaviours or individual
behaviours but extent to other walks of life as well (Fulford et al., 2016). For example, it is seen
that the people suffering from depression are being looked down upon in their workplaces and
also had to face unjust treatment and adequate amount or number of growth opportunities are not
being offered to them. In addition to this, the people suffering from depression or other forms of
mental health issues are generally being seen as retards which is actually not true and thereby
ostracised from the main stream of population (Wong et al., 2018). In this regard, it needs to be
said that the individuals suffering from the problem of mental illness are generally being looked
down upon by the people and rather than seen as suffering from some kind of disease are seen as
mentally retarded. Needless to say, that the treatment which these individuals have to face is very
different from the kind of treatment that the people suffering from other kinds of physical or
health problems have to face within the societal framework of Australia. Furthermore, it is seen
that many times people start to show undue or uncalled for sympathy for these people and this in
turn affects their psychology or mental wellbeing in a significant manner. The net result of this is
that the people suffering from various kinds of mental health issues rather than opening up to
people as well as bonding with them and discuss their problems, start to withdraw from society
and turn to self-destructive measures like substance abuse, suicide and others (Rubio-Valera et
al., 2018). This is perhaps one of the major reasons why ‘12.5 per 100,000’ suffering from
mental health issues commit suicide because of the lack of support as well as help that they get
from their peers or family members or for that matter from the society and also the stigma or
discrimination that they have to face (Health.gov.au, 2019).
Mental health issues are just like any other disease and the people suffering from it need
the support as well as medical attention that the people suffering from other diseases need opined

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by Meurk et al. (2016). However, in the majority of the cases it is seen that rather than help or
support the people suffering from mental illnesses had to face discrimination or stigma at the
hands of the very people that had expected to get support or help (Cruwys & Gunaseelan, 2016).
This discrimination or stigma that the people suffering from mental illnesses face in turn leads to
an aggravated stage wherein the patients start to lose touch with the human society and thereby
resort to the usage of violent measures. There are various symptoms associated with the mental
illnesses like trouble sleeping, loose of interest in favourite activities, appetite change, increased
energy, touchiness, emergence of a dark side and others (Reavley et al., 2018). More
importantly, it is seen that there are various risks associated with the mental illness as well. For
example, in the extreme cases it is seen that the patients become suicidal, resort to substance
abuse, complete withdrawal from society, develop schizophrenia and others which can not only
be harmful for the patients but also for the people who are associated with them (Meiser et al.,
2017).
In the present times it is seen that the psychologists are resorting to the usage of different
kinds of assessments for the detection of the mental illnesses. These assessment models require
the psychologists to analyse the behaviour, lifestyle, attitude, speech, perception, judgement and
other attributes of the patients to decide whether the individuals are suffering from depression or
not (Mulay et al., 2016). It is pertinent to note that this approach is completely different from the
earlier approaches adopted by the psychologists who used to taken into consideration only the
cognition or the mental state of the patients. More importantly, it is seen that the kind of stigma
or discrimination which these individuals have to face within the society are also being taken
into consideration within the assessments as well as the treatment measures adopted by the
psychologists or councillors (Ye et al., 2016).

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William Anthony, Director of the Boston Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation in his
1993 speech said “Recovery is a deeply personal, unique process of changing one's attitudes,
values, feelings, goals, skills and/or roles…. one’s life as one grows beyond the catastrophic
effects of mental illness” (McNair & Bush, 2016). This holds true for the mental health issues as
well wherein it is seen that the recovery time as well as the method differs from patient to
patient. For example, in some of the cases it is seen that psychiatric sessions work for the
recovery of the patients whereas in others it is seen that along with psychiatric sessions
prescription of drugs is also needed (Rozbroj et al., 2015). In addition to this, personal as well as
social care is needed in almost all the cases of mental illnesses since the ability of the depression
patients to recover from mental health issues depend greatly on the kind of social care that they
get (Thornicroft et al., 2016). More importantly, in the recent times it is seen that the Australian
government had come forward with various measures like “A national framework for recovery-
oriented mental health services: Guide for practitioners and providers”, “A national framework
for recovery-oriented mental health services: Policy and theory” and others (Health.gov.au,
2019). These frameworks or model are intended to improve the quality of treatment or care
which is being offered to the people suffering from depression by making the minimum
qualifications required for psychologists more stringent. However, at the same time it needs to be
said that the discrimination as well as the stigma that the patients have to face within the
framework of the society affects their recovery process in a significant manner. In this regard, it
needs to be said that the people suffering from the different kinds of mental illnesses require the
support as well as the care of their family members and family however in the majority of the
cases it is seen that these are the very people from whom they had to face discrimination or
stigma because of their mental condition (Alley et al., 2017).

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The Australian government have given various stipulations regarding the manner in
which the mental health patients need to be treated within the society of Australia. In this regard,
it needs to be said that the Australian government had given strict mandate that the psychologists
as well as the care givers are required to treat the patients suffering from mental health issues
with respect and dignity, protect the privacy of their information of the patients and others
(Rubio-Valera et al., 2018). In addition to these, the hospitals, psychologists, care givers and
others are required to follow the various Australian legislations and UN precepts like
“Fundamental Freedoms and Basic Rights (UN Principle 1)”, “Voluntary Admissions (UN
Principle 15)”, “Community Treatment (UN Principles 3,7 and 9)”, “Standards of Care and
Allocation of Resources (UN Principles 8,10 and 14) and others in addition to the Anti-
Discrimination Act, ASC Code of Ethics and others (Health.gov.au, 2019).
The above-mentioned policies and legislations intend to bring about a change by not only
improving the quality of treatment which is being offered to them but societal outlook towards
them as well. Furthermore, the care givers also play an integral role within the quality of
treatment services which are being offered to the patients. For example, they are required to take
into effective consideration the cultural background of the patients, the needs and social
background of the patients while offering personalised care to the patients (Alley et al., 2017).
Furthermore, these policies and legislations have greatly reduced the amount of discrimination or
stigma that the mental patients had to face but at the same time it needs to be said that there still
exist many gaps. For example, most of the time it is seen because of lack of governmental
intervention these policies or legislations are rarely being followed by the care-givers and
healthcare professionals.

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To conclude, the mental health problems have emerged as one of the major health
problems that the majority of the people in Australia are suffering from presently. More
important that the problem of mental health issues itself these individuals had to face stigma as
well as discrimination at the hands of the society. Furthermore, it is seen that the discrimination
or the stigmatisation which these individuals have to face not only enhances the gravity of the
mental health issue but at the same time hinders them to fulfil the basic psychosocial needs of
theirs. In this regard, the national government of Australia had taken various initiatives and also
passed various guidelines for the psychologists and care givers to ensure that these individuals do
not have to face discrimination but at the same time ensure that high quality treatment services
are being offered to them.

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