Social Workers Role in Addressing Stigma Due to Mental Illness and Domestic Violence - Coursework Example

Student’s name Professor’s name Subject Date Social Workers Role in Addressing Stigma Due To Mental Illness and Domestic Violence Domestic violence and mental illnesses constitute two of the major incidences where stigma is prevalent with numerous consequences. Stigma is a multidimensional concept consisting myriad impacts and concepts, but in its basic definition, it is a marker for adverse experiences that include negative attitudes and labeling, stereotyping, separation and removal from status, and discrimination against a group of persons by individuals who perceive themselves as more socially powerful. Since stigmatization is often accompanied by discrimination, it is especially problematic for victims of mental illness and domestic violence. Social workers play a crucial role in the intervention aimed at helping the victims deal with the issue of stigmatization and hence effectively address the issues of domestic violence and mental illness. Stigmatization begins with noticing differences between members of a group, which marks a purely social phenomenon of labeling differences. This is followed by the second aspect of stigmatization where the labels are associated with particular stereotypes, which is also a purely natural social phenomenon that helps individuals increase their efficiency in processing information from the environment, but in cases such as mental illness and domestic violence, it is mostly associated with negative stereotypes. Stigmatization leads to a feeling of shame about a particular experience. Mental illness and stigmatization The association of mental illness and stigma runs into ancient periods. For instance, in Ancient Greece, mental disorders carried with them a significant amount of humiliation and shame. The traditional association of mental illness with demon possessions further exacerbated the negative stereotypes associated with mental illness. Such association of mental illness with negativity persisted during the Protestant Reformation, where mental illness was associated with personal irresponsibility and immorality and such notions of negative stereotype have endured to date. Mental illness is still largely viewed with great negativity and fear and various studies have reported that most people generally have a negative attitude towards patients with mental illnesses as mental illness is seen as a sign of weakness (Bryne 67). The public largely view mentally ill patients as dangerous, unpredictable and socially undesirable (Dumont and Myreille 70). Besides ignorance and intolerance, such negative attitudes are further exacerbated by real fears of unpredictability, dangerousness, and disability, besides the increased burden that psychiatric patients may represent to family members and professionals who care for the patients (Guimon 20). Additionally, there is a general unwillingness in most populations to associate with persons with mental illnesses especially when such persons have been described as patients in mental hospitals or to have spent some time in a mental hospital despite having fully recovered and depicting ‘normal’ behavior. The extent of stigmatization against mentally ill patients has been further indicated by past research that has indicated that significant number of persons view ex-convicts, which constitutes one of the society’s most deviant social groups, more positive compared to ex-mental patients further highlighting the extent of stigmatization against mental illness. Based on labeling theory, which is a sociological explanation of mental illness, social control on behavior is critical in creation of the mentally disordered label (Bryne 67). Unexplainable abnormal behaviors, which is indicative of mental illness is therefore seen as some form of residual deviance and once such labeling occurs, the individual labeled as such assume a role of mental patient in the same way a thief may assume the role of a criminal. Labeling involves stereotyping that lead to exaggeration of differences between groups making it easier to maintain social distance between the victims of stigmatization and the stigmatizer (Bryne 65). The adverse impact of such labeling are evident among victims of mental illnesses as they come to expect discrimination, devaluation, and rejection from other persons often lead to preemptive isolation and withdrawal from the society to avoid such perceived negative consequences of a mentally ill label (Dumont and Myreille 71). Such self-stigmatization is often a problematic issue in the care of mental patients with shame overriding even the most extreme forms of mental illness leading to secrecy, which is one of the largest barriers to the management of mental illness (Bryne 71). For instance, fears of stigmatization also affect the extent to which individuals with mental illness seek for help and hence unlike physical illness where social resources are mobilized, persons with mental disorders are often removed from potential supports including social networks. Domestic violence and stigma Domestic violence constitutes a pattern of coercive and abusive behaviors that take place in the context of intimate-partner relationships (Rosenberg 61). Domestic violence is marked by repetitiveness, and includes a pattern of abusive patterns that include physical abuse, psychological trauma, economic control, and sexual coercion, which lead to traumatization of the victims especially considering the fact that it occurs over long periods of time and in the hands of a person who was trusted and loved over a prolonged period (Rosenberg 60). Domestic violence is also attached with a lot of stigma, which similar to the case of mental illnesses, impacts on the intervention. The victims of domestic violence are likely to feel ashamed of their situation and thus are less likely to seek for help (Rosenberg 61). According to various studies, most of the cases of domestic violence go unreported thereby exacerbating the issue of domestic violence and leading to the endemic state of domestic violence in the society (Dumont and Myreille 70). Role of the social worker in addressing stigma in domestic violence and mental illness. The social workers play a significant role in helping victims of domestic violence and persons experiencing mental illness. Social workers are likely to work with persons who are victims; either direct or indirect victims of domestic violence or these include children in homes experiencing domestic violence, perpetrators, and family members of perpetrators and the victims. Victims of domestic violence often feel ashamed of being in relationships that are abusive and subsequently have challenges disclosing their situations to others. Subsequently, victims of domestic violence often withstand violence for lengthy time before they seek help. Resistance to support and help is also often reinforced by the perpetrators of domestic violence who seek myriad ways to isolate the victims of the violence. In order to help the victims speak out, social workers in direct practice should posses’ appropriate assessment and screening skills to assist them identify cases of domestic violence. Domestic violence is also a prevalently a gender issue as indicated by the fact that most of the victims of domestic violence are women. Social workers can help reduce stigma through programmes aimed at empowering women. Other ways that social workers can help reduce stigmatization is awareness of stigma within the organization setting in social care especially in ways that social workers handle the victims of violence. Treating victims with respect and avoiding dismissive and patronizing approach in the care of the victims is also crucial in helping address issues of stigmatization in victims. Social workers should establish and maintain a respectful relationship with the victims in both mental illnesses and cases of domestic violence. Considering the pervasiveness of self stigmatization, social workers should seek to help victims to face the negative stereotypes and thus reducing the prevalence of acting on these stereotypes. These processes include dealing with the victim’s self-esteem issues, creating higher expectations for self and service response (Bland 100). Social workers may also participate in the education of communities on stigmatization and this awareness can be achieved through various media and community programs. As evidenced from the labeling theory, individuals with mental illness may go to extreme extents to avoid being labeled as mentally ill. Considering that treatment seeking is one of the direct pathways that may lead to labeling, stigma has been used to explain the discrepancy between the rate of mental illness and the rate of treatment for the illness (Hanharan 19). The social workers thus are crucial in helping alleviate the stigma that is associated with mental illness and this is likely to increase the rate of treatment for victims of mental illness. Among the approaches that can be used include increasing awareness of mental illnesses and its biological causes in communities using community members and volunteers. Social workers should also encourage disclosure, openness and sharing experiences while providing support to the victims (Dumont and Myreille 70). From the foregoing, it is evident that victims of domestic violence and mental illness are disproportionately impacted by stigmatization compared to most other subjects. Such stigmatization is largely blamed for the discrepancy between the number of persons seeking for help in cases of domestic violence and mental illness as compared to individuals who are reported as victims of the two issues. In addition, social workers play significant role in dealing with issues of mental illness and domestic violence and as such they may play s significant role in addressing the discrepancies in intervention-seeking among victims by addressing the issue of stigmatization. Works Cited Bland, Robert. Social work practice in mental health: An introduction. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. 2009. Bryne, Peter. Stigma of mental illness and ways of diminishing it. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 65-72. 2000. Print. Dumont, Serge. & Myreille, Stonge. Social work health and international development. Routledge. 2013. Print. Guimon, Jose. Prejudice and realities in Stigma. Hanrahan, Erin. The stigma of mental illness among youth: A practical guide for child and adolescent therapists. University of Hartford. 2008. Print. Rosenberg, Jessica. Working in social work: The real world guide to practice. Taylor and Francis. 2009. Print. Read More