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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1390949

Investigating the impact of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for mental healthcare professionals: the effect on patients´ self-stigmatization, a pilot study

Provisionally accepted
Kim Helmus Kim Helmus 1*Marilon van Doorn Marilon van Doorn 2Mariken De Koning Mariken De Koning 3Inez Myin-Germeys Inez Myin-Germeys 4Frederike Schirmbeck Frederike Schirmbeck 2Therese Van Amelsvoort Therese Van Amelsvoort 5Dorien Nieman Dorien Nieman 2Lieuwe De Haan Lieuwe De Haan 2
  • 1 AMC Medical Research BV, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 2 Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 3 Arkin (Netherlands), Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 4 KU Leuven Kulak, Kortrijk, West Flanders, Belgium
  • 5 Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: A significant proportion of mental health care professionals (MHCPs) hold stigmatizing attitudes about their patients. When patients perceive and internalize these beliefs, self-stigmatization can increase. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may decrease stigmatizing attitudes by changing the 'us' versus 'them' thinking into continuum beliefs. In the present study MHCPs were given an ACT-based training, aiming to decrease stigmatization, hypothesizing that self-stigmatization of their patients will subsequently decrease. Methods: An RCT with a 2 (pre-test / post-test) x 2 (no training / training) design was conducted. A total of 41 MHCPs participated, 20 were randomized to the experimental and 21 to the control condition respectively. The MHCPs in the experimental condition received an ACT-based training, MHCPs in the control condition received no training. From every MHCP, one of their patients participated in the pre-and post-measurement. As the primary outcome, patients' awareness, agreement, application and hurt-self, was measured using the Self Stigma of Mental Illness Scale -Short Form (SSMIS-SF), before and after the MHCPs' ACT-based training.Results: Significant group x time interaction effects were found for 'application' (internalization of mental illness stereotypes) in patients after the ACT-based training of their MHCP: F (1,39) = 9.33, p < 0.01, ηp 2 = .85. On the contrary, no effect was found on the subscales 'awareness', 'agreement' and 'hurt-self'.Conclusion: Preliminary results suggest that a brief ACT training for MHCP might heighten their awareness and contribute to reduction of their stigmatizing attitudes and behaviour, leading to less application of self-stigmatising beliefs in their patients.

    Keywords: Self-stigmatization, Acceptance and commitment therapy (act), Mental healthcare, professionals, Stigma & Awareness

    Received: 24 Feb 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Helmus, Doorn, De Koning, Myin-Germeys, Schirmbeck, Van Amelsvoort, Nieman and Haan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kim Helmus, AMC Medical Research BV, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.