Efficacy of a combined intervention program for the reduction of internalized stigma in people with severe mental illness

Background Internalized stigma (IS) is a key factor in the recovery, quality of life and functioning of people with severe mental illness (SMI), and effective intervention programs are needed to reduce IS in all its dimensions. The aim of this report was to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: González Domínguez, Sara, González Sanguino, Clara, Muñoz López, Manuel
Format: article
Publication Date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repository:Docta Complutense
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/94050
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94050
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Stigma
Internalized stigma
Severe mental illness
Group intervention
Psicología (Psicología)
61 Psicología
Description
Summary:Background Internalized stigma (IS) is a key factor in the recovery, quality of life and functioning of people with severe mental illness (SMI), and effective intervention programs are needed to reduce IS in all its dimensions. The aim of this report was to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a new psychological intervention group program for the reduction of IS in people with SMI. Methods A 9-session hands-on intervention program was designed with a group format in which different therapeutic techniques were combined. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, 80 people with SMI and high levels of IS were selected and randomly assigned to one of two groups: program (n = 41, experimental group) or conventional treatment (n = 39, control group). Results Mixed analysis of variance showed improvements in total IS and all of its dimensions (cognitive, emotional and behavioral) (p ≤ 0.01) and in depressive symptomatology (p = 0.01) in the experimental group after the treatment phase. Conclusion The results indicate that the program effectively reduces IS and its dimensions as well as other relevant associated variables in a sample of people with SMI.