Up To Me: Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness on College Campuses

Up To Me: Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness on College Campuses

This is a three-lesson, disclosure-based stigma reduction program meant to reduce barriers to community living and participation for college students with psychiatric disabilities. The goal is to improve community living and participation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities within their postsecondary community using the Honest Open Proud (HOP) program. There are 3 specific objectives of the project:1) evaluate program fidelity, 2) assess program feasibility, and 3) conduct a randomized controlled trial of the HOP program with college students with mental illness to examine its efficacy. Anticipated outcomes include increases in 1) community integration, 2)self-esteem and self-efficacy, 3) empowerment and self-determination, 4) disclosure of mental illness in order to obtain needed support, and 5) care seeking/service engagement for mental illness. Ultimately, we expect to see increased academic persistence and achievement among HOP program completers.

Inclusion Criteria:

• College students enrolled at USF
• Over 18 years of age
• Individuals with psychiatric disability(ies) who feel shame regarding their mental illness or keep it secret

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with a sole substance abuse disorder
• Individuals who plan to graduate before the conclusion of the data collection period; for intervention participants, this would be a graduation date within 6 months of starting the intervention.