Self-Stigma, Public Stigma and Treatment-Seeking Behavior: Why Don’t People Seek Psychological Support?

Abstract

Why don’t people seek psychological support when they are in need? What are the underlying psychological factors? In this study we examine the links between self-stigma of seeking help, public stigma of seeking help and treatment-seeking behaviors with regards to various variables such as self-reliance, perfectionism, social support, experiential avoidance etc. One of the weaknesses in the relevant literature is the limited connections to the relevant health psychology theories such as health belief model. So the paper discusses theoretical relevance of self-stigma, public stigma and treatment-seeking behaviors, in addition to the delineation of various relevant variables.