ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the history of anti-stigma communication efforts as it relates to mental health, as well as the importance of discourse itself in defining, controlling, and mitigating mental illness. Anti-stigma health communication campaigns are believed to provide an important function in breaking down what Corrigan constitutes as the stigma to prejudice to discrimination sequence. This sequence, based on the conceptualization of attribution theory developed by Weiner, has been a common approach in researching responses to individuals suffering from a mental health crisis. Patrick W. Corrigan and Sephen P. Hinshaw suggest that there are three main areas in which stigmatizing messages can be resisted: through protest; educational workshops; and personal contact with individuals who have experienced mental health concerns. Mental illness or mental health concerns, according to Donald J. Trump’s discourse, are based on personal shortcomings and responsibility instead of being attributed to biologically based causation or the experience of traumatic events.
