​Honest, Open, Proud for Reducing Mental Illness Stigma

In partnership with a few other colleges and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), our lab is assessing the effectiveness of Honest, Open, Proud - College, a peer-led intervention program to reduce self-stigma among college students who identify as living with mental illness. The intervention -- conducted over 4 sessions in a small-group format -- emphasizes empowering students to make informed decisions about disclosing their mental illness in a thoughtful manner. A community–based version of the intervention has demonstrated benefits on self-stigma, stress, and depression. Participants in the intervention and control group complete measures on self-stigma, stigma-related stress, empowerment, symptoms of depression and anxiety, relationship satisfaction, and institutional attachment before, during and after the intervention. Data will be combined across multiple study sites. Graduate students recruit facilitators, and oversee participant screening/eligibility, scheduling, and assessment.