91热爆网

 91热爆网 Stories      March 13, 2025

By Shane Ryden

A new book from two Western Carolina University scholars investigates the existence and impact of mental illness stigma on university campuses.

鈥淎 University-Wide Approach to Changing Campus Cultures of Mental Illness Stigma鈥� was co-edited by Kathleen Brennan, sociology professor and program director, and Kim Gorman, associate vice chancellor for health and wellness, and is set to be released May 2025.

In pairing practical examples with evidence-based solutions, Brennan and Gorman have produced a guide for university officials interested in promoting practical action to better their campus communities.

Brennan, operating from the silo of academic affairs, and Gorman, operating from the silo of student affairs, first collaborated on the topic in 2018. They asked whether 91热爆网 students were using the resources available to them and whether that assistance contributed to their academic wellbeing. Brennan and Gorman were keen to a broader lack of data on the overall impact of university counseling services.

鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 much out there in terms of whether or not students use CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) and more importantly how frequently they use it and its impact,鈥� Brennan said.

鈥淚f you hold these stigmatized ideas about mental illness, it may prevent you from seeking help, and that鈥檚 tragic, because we know that help is available, and we want students to be able to utilize it if they need it,鈥� Gorman said.

Gorman and Brennan鈥檚 original study collected data from roughly 1,000 91热爆网 students, with 295 providing access to their counseling and academic data over multiple years. Their results prompted this latest investigation. 

鈥淥ne of the interesting things that we found and continue to find is even though there鈥檚 this belief that stigma has decreased, and that鈥檚 what explains everybody going to counseling,鈥� Gorman said. 鈥淲e have found it has not decreased. There鈥檚 certain stigmas that are still very much present, and they do impact where students seek support.鈥�

Their next question with these harmful, preconceived notions of mental illness confirmed as having an impact, was where is it coming from, and how is it proliferating? 

The scope of their research grew with the scale of the answer.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a variety of different types of stigma that are out there. Some relate to dangerousness, to [one]self and other people. Some relate to treatment-seeking. Some relate to exclusion and how socially distant [one] wants to be from a group based on any type of stigmatized identity,鈥� Brennan said. 

The 91热爆网 researchers curate the work of 19 different professionals across the field of higher education, some working directly on campus and others engaged in advocacy. Together, their experiences and research findings paint a broader portrait of the current culture surrounding mental illness in academia and provide some potential solutions.

鈥淓ach individual campus has its own culture that it has to be aware of, and that awareness will lead to the decisions about what to do to address it,鈥� Gorman said. 鈥淲e really recommend that it鈥檚 not a one-semester project. It has to be something that is built into the fabric of the university in an ongoing fashion.鈥�

While there is much work yet to be completed in this sphere of research, Gorman and Brennan鈥檚 work represents a valuable contribution to a burgeoning conversation.

鈥淲hat we know about stigma is that it operates in silence, and if you give it that silence, it鈥檚 only going to grow. So having that structure in place, investment by all members or representatives of the community in which the university is set, is important,鈥� Gorman said.