6.1 Stigma

A Family Guide to Concurrent Disorders - Part II: The impact on families

Outline - Chapter 6: Stigma

• Stigma
• Understanding stigma
• Experiencing stigma
• Surviving stigma
• Combating stigma

Much of this chapter is based on a study of family members in self-help/mutual aid groups (O’Grady, 2004). In this study, family members expressed how deeply stigma had affected them on personal, interpersonal, social and political levels. Some family members had learned to cope very effectively with the pain caused by stigma and discrimination,  while others had never experienced stigma. However, most of the family members were not only struggling with the fear of others finding out about their loved one’s illness, but were surprised and dismayed to find that they were sometimes blamed for the mental health and/or substance use problems experienced by their loved ones. The quotes included in this chapter come directly from interviews with these family members.

Their stories reveal the degree of pain experienced by so many families as a direct result of prejudice, stigma and discrimination.

Families usually experience stigma in four stages:

• Understanding stigma refers to the ways in which family members understand and explain stigma to themselves and others.
• Experiencing stigma refers to the ways that families experience the consequences of stigma.
• Surviving stigma refers to the strategies family members use to cope with stigma.
• Combating stigma refers to the decision by some families to fight stigma on a social and political level.

This chapter will help you understand why stigma occurs and how families address these challenges.

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