Stigma, mental health, and counseling service use: A person-centered approach to mental health stigma profiles.

The current study examined reports of stigma toward mental health services, depressive symptoms, flourishing, and mental health service use among a sample of 8,285 college students across the United States who completed the Healthy Minds Study. The study aimed to: (a) identify profiles of public and personal stigma against mental health service utilization, and (b) examine the demographic predictors of stigma group membership and mental health service utilization. Latent profile analyses revealed 3 distinct groups based on public and self-stigma (i.e., "High Self, High Public Stigma," "Average Self, High Public Stigma," and "Low Self, Low Public Stigma"). Subsequent analyses examined demographic characteristics and mental health across the 3 groups. Results indicated significant differences in age, gender, race/ethnicity, mental health, and mental health service use across the 3 groups. Results further showed that students with high perceived need for mental health services, identifying as male or Asian, and belonging to the "High Self, High Public Stigma" group had lower likelihood of seeking mental health services in the past year. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Managing hindering self-focused attention in counseling sessions.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the moderation effects of management strategies on the association between hindering self-focused attention and counseling self-efficacy. METHOD: Participants were 160 counselor trainees. A hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data, and a simple effect analysis was used to explore the nature of the interaction. RESULTS: Results indicated that, for trainees who used more basic counseling techniques, counseling self-efficacy remained the same no matter their hindering self-focused attention experiences. However, for those who used less basic counseling techniques, their counseling self-efficacy dropped when they had more experiences of hindering self-focused attention. Similarly, for trainees who used more self-awareness to understand clients, these trainees reported a similar level of counseling self-efficacy no matter their hindering self-focused attention experiences. Conversely, for those who used less self-awareness as a tool to understand their clients during their sessions, their counseling self-efficacy decreased when they had more experiences of hindering self-focused attention. CONCLUSION: This is the first study that extends the literature on direct, linear relationships between hindering self-focused attention and counseling self-efficacy. Results suggested two strategies (i.e., use of basic counseling techniques and use of self-awareness to understand clients) significantly moderate the above association.