Self-Stigma Among People With Serious Mental Illnesses: The Use of Focus Groups to Inform the Development of a Brief Video Intervention

Objective: People with mental illnesses may avoid or delay treatment due to a fear of labeling and discrimination, a phenomenon known as self-stigma. Self-stigma is a major barrier to care and creates obstacles to pursuing employment, independent living, and a fulfilling social life. We aimed to gather input from people with lived experience of mental illness to develop a social-contact-based, brief video-based intervention to reduce self-stigma. Method: Two (n = 12) focus groups were conducted to inform video content and led to the creation of a script and brief video using a professional actor, who described a story of living with schizophrenia while focusing on symptoms, personal struggles, and recovery. Two (n = 9) additional focus groups were held after video development to gather feedback and suggested edits. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results: Themes emerging in prevideo development included the negative effects of being diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, being stereotyped, the value of relatable recovery stories and seeing the person as a whole, and the utility of focusing on symptoms and experiences rather than diagnosis-specific language. Feedback in the postvideo focus groups was mainly favorable and resulted in edits related to language about "responsibility" and a disclaimer about using a professional actor. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: While participants' experiences of stigma are consistent with extant literature, this is the first study to elicit the perspectives of people living with mental illnesses in developing a video intervention to reduce self-stigma. Studies are needed to examine the efficacy of these videos in reducing self/public stigma. Impact and Implications People with mental illnesses may avoid or delay treatment due to a fear of labeling and discrimination (self-stigma). This qualitative study aimed to seek input from people living with mental illnesses to guide the development of brief social-contact-based video interventions to reduce self-stigma. These easily disseminatable video-based interventions have the potential to increase the likelihood of seeking services and improve access to care among people with mental illnesses.