The Effects of Group Counseling and Self-Affirmation on Stigma and Group Relationship Development: A Replication and Extension

• Published in: Journal of counseling psychology 2022-10, Vol.69 (5), p.701-710
• Main Authors: Seidman, Andrew J., Wade, Nathaniel G., Geller, Jason
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Affirmation; Brief interventions; College students; Control Groups; Counseling; Counseling - methods; Female; Group Counseling; Group Development; Group Intervention; Help seeking behavior; Human; Humans; Intervention; Male; Medical screening; Mental health; Negative Attitudes; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology; Perceptions; Personal Values; Psychoeducation; Psychoeducational treatment; Public opinion; Self esteem; Self-Concept; Selfaffirmation; Social Stigma; Stigma; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tests
• ISSN: 0022-0167; 1939-2168
• DOI: 10.1037/cou0000614

The stigma of seeking counseling and negative attitudes about counseling are primary barriers to its use. In the only known study examining the utility of attending a group counseling session to ameliorate stigma (no control group), participation was associated with reductions in self-stigma (Wade et al., 2011). Self-affirmation interventions have shown promising results in reducing stigma and promoting positive expectations about counseling, but no research has examined its effects on a counseling session. In the present, two-part study, 172 college students who had previously completed an online screening survey, including measures of stigma, participated in a single session of group counseling at a mental health clinic. Upon arrival, participants completed a self-affirmation intervention before viewing psychoeducation (n = 66; 12 groups) or only viewed psychoeducation (n = 72; 14 groups); both groups then completed a session of group counseling. After, participants completed these same measures along with measures of group relationships. The remaining participants (n = 34; 7 groups) viewed psychoeducation and completed the same stigma measures before being informed of randomization to the wait-list control condition. Our results replicate and extend findings from Wade et al. (2011): Completing a single session of group counseling reduced self-stigma and promoted positive attitudes toward counseling. Further, completing self-affirmation reduced postsession perceptions of public stigma. Self-affirmation had no impact on group relationships. Overall, findings suggest the utility of offering a "try-out" session of group counseling as a stigma-reduction intervention; preceding with a brief self-affirmation intervention provides further benefits by reducing perceptions of public stigma. Public Significance Statement Attending a single "try-out" session of group counseling is an effective stigma-reduction intervention. Further, preceding with a self-affirmation intervention decreased perceptions of public stigma beyond the effects of attending group "as usual."