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Complaints from People
with Mental Illnesses..
The Role of Stigma
Dorothy Cotton, Ph.D., C. Psych.
CACOLE June, 2009
Why complaints from PMI?
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20% of the population will experience a
mental illness at some point in their lives
Estimates suggest that 5-10% of police
calls will involved a PMI
That means 3.2 MILLION such calls a year
What kinds of occurrences?
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Apprehensions under the MHA
Offenses--Primarily minor
At least as likely to be victims as
perpetrators
“other??” including social support contacts
Often co-occurring substance problems
and homelessness
Often well known to police
Why talk about stigma?
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Perceived as being as debilitating as
mental illnesses themselves
Priority of the Mental Health Commission
of Canada
What is stigma ?
(the MHCC definition)
A social process, experienced or anticipated,
characterized by exclusion, rejection,
blame or devaluation that results from
experience or reasonable anticipation of
an adverse social judgment about a
person or a group
The dictionary definition…
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A mark of shame, a strain on person’s
good reputation
Syns: reproach, taint, tarnish, disgrace,
infamy, disrepute
Global devaluation of a person on the
basis of some characteristic they possess
Origin: stigmata (brand) designed to
expose something unusual and bad about
the moral status of the signifier
Stigma’s component parts
Stereotypes
Prejudice
Discrimination
Stereotypes…
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…beliefs about a social group made in an
all or none fashion, characterizing the
group as a whole while dismissing
individual differences or unique
characteristics
May be based of an iota of truth—or may
be blatantly wrong
Prejudice
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…unreasoning, unjustified, overgeneralized and negatively tinged
attitudes related to their group
membership
…prejudgment
Discrimination…
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Unfair treatment of others or harmful
actions toward them based on
membership in a certain group
Discriminatory practices may be unofficial
or officially sanctioned by law or policy
For example…women
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Stereotype:
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Prejudice
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Women are shorter than men
Women are not as good as men at machinery and
technical stuff
Women are moody and unpredictable
Women are bad drivers—watch out!
Discrimination
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women should not have drivers licenses or be
admitted into certain trades and professions
The three core problems
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The problem of knowledge (ignorance)
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The problem of attitudes (prejudice)
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Things we do not know or think we know
about the target group
Conclusions we draw and things we think
The problem of behaviour (discrimination)
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actions we take and rules we make based on
the above
..what we don’t know…what we
think we know…
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Schizophrenia=split personality
Depression is not a MI
<10% of people will experience a MI
Mentally ill = dangerous
Mentally ill = irresponsible, incapable
MI is a moral/character flaw
The problem of attitude..
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Concern about social distance
Visceral and emotional reactions to PMI
Need for social control
Attribution of responsibility
Justification for discriminatory behaviour
The problem of
behaviour/discrimination
Conceptualizing stigma as discrimination
moved concern from attitudes to
behaviour
What do we actually DO to people with
mental illnesses?
The Effects of Stigma..
Generally speaking..
Social isolation and withdrawal
Lack of access to services
Housing problems
Employment problems
Self-stigma
Decreased optimism and morale
Increased levels of depression
Decreased participation in therapy
Family conflict
..and what does this have to do
with the complaints process???
Before they ever get to you..
On the one hand…
Stigma may be the reason they were
involved with the police to start with
On the other hand..
PMI may avoid making a complaint for fear
of discrimination (“they won’t believe me
anyhow”)
When they get to you..
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Likelihood of denial of mental illness or
failure to disclose
Reacting from previous experience
Anticipation of rejection
Failure to follow through because of lack
of expectations
The effects of self stigma
What assumptions do we bring to
the interaction?
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Mental
Mental
Mental
Mental
Mental
illness=dangerous
illness=unreliable reporting
illness=limited intellect
illness=always, everything
Illness=misperceptions
As an aside….
Most police have received training in regard
to interactions with PMI..
Don’t assume lack of knowledge/skill on
their part
But…
Aside from MHA apprehensions, few police
services have specific guidelines or policies
around how to deal with situations
involving PMI, which makes adjudication
of complaints difficult
How do these affect our
interactions?
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Social distance (how do I get this guy out
of here as quickly as possible???)
Second guessing (did you really mean
that? Are you sure?)
Bias: are you sure there was nothing you
did to….
To do..
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Education for intake staff re mental illness
User friendly processes
Utilizing support persons
Positive role models and leadership
?Dedicated staff
“Mental illness is nothing to be
ashamed of, but stigma and bias
shame us all”
Bill Clinton
For more information…
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About the Mental Health Commission and
its work on stigma…
www.mentalhealthcommission.ca
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About interactions between police and
people with mental illnesses…
www.pmhl.ca