Reducing stigma in the Chinese community to support the recovery and empowerment of consumers and carers

Stigma and misunderstanding of mental illness within the Chinese community has been well entrenched in the culture over many hundreds of years. These entrenched attitudes create significant barriers to those living with a mental illness in seeking treatment. These attitudes discourage families from talking about illness, and families can be extremely reluctant to seek any form of mental health support for themselves or loved ones. Working with the Chinese community, MI Fellowship has previously developed and delivered translated, culturally-specific versions of the award-winning peer-led WellWays Family Education programs for the Chinese community. This presentation at TheMHS aimed to share the establishment phase of a new project – with funding awarded through the Department of Health Partners in Recovery (PIR) initiative – to increase the social connectedness and engagement in community of Chinese consumers and carers, while reducing the stigma of mental illness within the Chinese community. The project is explicitly targeted toward people who are not engaged in the service system or their community. All activities engaged in are culturally relevant and have been determined through stakeholder input, are occurring in the community, and are being investigated pre and post with academic input to support a robust evaluation.