Stepping into the shoes of schizophrenia: Guided imagery as an empathy and anti stigma training tool for mental health providers

Research on stigma and mental illness has focused more on the general public than on mental health staff. In his study the researcher tested a self-authored guided imagery that asked mental health providers to imagine developing schizophrenia as an empathy and anti stigma training. The majority (83%) of experimental participants stated guided imagery as beneficial compared to half (50%) of the control participants, although the other quantitative measures did not significantly support guided imagery to have increased empathy or decreased stigma. Surprisingly, the only significant change from pretest to posttest was an increase on the stigmatizing attitude of social restrictiveness for the experimental group. Previous research suggested empathizing with a stigmatized group, like in the schizophrenia guided imagery, could produce a defensive reaction and disidentification with the stigmatized group and in turn increase stigma. The guided imagery provided a context for imagining schizophrenia and some of the experimental participants displayed cognitive and affective empathizing with the subjective experience of schizophrenia. The focus on loss in the schizophrenia guided imagery seemed to evoke mostly depressive emotions from the experimental participants. At first in developing the guided imagery, the symptoms seemed to be the most relevant disruption, but upon looking deeper, it became clear to this researcher that the extensive loss in schizophrenia was a profound issue that seemed to be overlooked. Therefore, the guided imagery was rewritten to emphasize loss as a major biographical disruption that warranted attention in the treatment of schizophrenia. Correlational data yielded support for an inverse relationship between empathy and stigmatizing attitudes confirmed in previous research. Post intervention discussions during the debriefing time often produced fruitful dialogue about the experience of schizophrenia and its treatment, which should be measured carefully in future research.