Mental Illness Stigma and the Moral and Social Community

Although mental health is a better understood, more widely discussed topic in our society today, a degree of stigmatization persists, especially in severe cases with links to homelessness, job loss, poverty and human rights. It is also still present in environments such as the workforce, healthcare settings and educational environments, and often internalized by the sufferer themselves. This book provides a philosophical account of what mental illness stigma is, why it persists, what harms it causes to people subject to public stigma or who internalize stigma in themselves, and what can be done about it. It analyzes the process of stigmatization, both public and internalized, in the twenty-first century Western culture, especially in the United States - including the process of stereotyping, the expressive harm of stereotypes, the role of social norms in creating adaptive preferences and shaping behaviour, the moral distancing and status loss involved with social exclusion and dehumanization, and the harm of discrimination.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. An overview of mental illness stigma; 2. The wrongfulness of stereotypes; 3. How stereotypes shape self and identity; 4. Internalized stigma and adaptive preferences; 5. Social exclusion and harms to the relational self; 6. Harms of discrimination and microaggressions; 7. Interventions to address stigma; References; Index.

About the author

Abigail Gosselin is a Professor of Philosophy at Regis University. She is the author of Global Poverty and Individual Responsibility (2009), Humanizing Mental Illness (2021), Mental Patient (2022), Mental Health Resilience (2024), and Self-Care in the Face of Stigma (forthcoming).

Product details

• Authors: Abigail (Regis University Gosselin, Gosselin Abigail
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 30.04.2026
• EAN: 9781009680448
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0968044-8
• No. of pages: 250
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Education > Social education, social work; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Social structure research; Psychology, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, Philosophy of Science, Social issues & processes, Social discrimination & inequality, Care of the mentally ill, Social and ethical issues, Social discrimination and social justice, Care of people with mental health conditions