Tranzo Pearl | Stigma on mental vulnerability
In the film Gevolgen Stigma en Werk (Consequences of Stigma and Work), five experience experts share their stories. They talk about their personal experiences with stigma and discrimination of people who struggle with mental illness/vulnerability or had it in the past. They talk about (partly anonymously) what experiences they have had with stigma and discrimination in their education and in their careers. This practice product is intended to break the taboo that exists and can be used for the training of occupational and insurance physicians.
The film stemmed from the findings of Kim Janssens's PhD research Decisions on Disclosure of Mental Illness in the Workplace. She showed that stigma on mental illness is a major barrier to sustainable employment of job seekers with mental illness.
Prior to the PhD defense of Kim Janssens, the symposium on job application and the openness dilemma took place on September 16, 2022. The title of this symposium also directly reflected the issues surrounding this topic: “Do I or don’t I tell? Consider this dilemma and make a conscious choice.” During this symposium, for professionals from reintegration practice, among others, the first results were presented towards a stigma awareness intervention, consisting of the Dutch decision aid CORAL.NL and a stigma awareness training for reintegration professionals.
From the perspective of science and policy, there were lectures by Guus van Weelden (UWV Board of Directors), Dr. Harry Michon (senior researcher Pariciperen naar Vermogen at Movisie) and Prof. Katrina Scior (Clinical Psychology and Stigma Studies) affiliated with University College London. In addition, discussions took place about practical experiences from the perspective of experts by experience (Jessica Rits and Mathijs van Meerkerk) and from the perspective of reintegration professionals (Pleuni Klessens and Marja Halters).
The social relevance of this topic was evident from the media coverage of this issue. With problems like labor market shortages, sharing this knowledge is hugely important. Subsequently in January 2023, Kim Janssens had the opportunity to present her findings to Minister Schouten (SZW) and Minister Helder (VWS) during a GGZ Reakt meeting.
Are you curious about some articles/interviews published in 2022? Click on the buttons to go to the news page.
