Date of Award
Summer 2026
Language
English
Embargo Period
4-30-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Psychology
Program
Clinical Psychology
First Advisor
John Forsyth
Committee Members
Mitch Earleywine; James Boswell
Keywords
Mental Health Stigma; Self-Compassion; Psychological Inflexibility; Values
Subject Categories
Clinical Psychology
Abstract
Mental health self-stigma, or the harmful beliefs that one holds about his or her mental illness, is associated with psychological distress and acts as a significant barrier to help-seeking. Yet, self-stigma is notoriously resistant to change when targeted directly. To address such concerns, the present study examined the effects of two brief writing interventions, self-compassion and values clarification relative to a control condition, in reducing self-stigma and improving willingness and intentionality to seek psychological help. Additionally, the present study also explored the contributions of two theoretically relevant mechanisms—state self-compassion and psychological (in)flexibility—on self-stigma, and whether resistance to self-compassion negatively impacted participants’ response to intervention. Undergraduates (N = 140) were randomly assigned to one of three writing conditions and the impact on self-stigma, intentionality, and willingness was assessed pre- and post-intervention. Results indicated that participants in the self-compassion condition demonstrated greater reductions in self-stigma relative to the values and control conditions, which did not significantly differ from each other. However, the writing interventions did not differentially impact, willingness, or intentions to seek psychological help. Across conditions, modest improvements in state self-compassion and psychological inflexibility were observed over time. Participants in the self-compassion group demonstrated more resistance than those in the values and control conditions. Serial mediation analyses demonstrated that resistance in the self-compassion group negatively impacted mechanisms of change, and consequently indirectly predicted greater self-stigma. These findings support the notion that self-compassion may unintentionally evoke resistance that, in turn, undermines its utility, particularly for those high in self-stigma. Implications for brief intervention design and future research on mental health self-stigma are discussed.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
White, Sara V., "Investigating the Effects of Values Clarification and Self-Compassion on Mental Health Self-Stigma and Willingness to Seek Psychological Help" (2026). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 449.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/449