Part two of candid advice from a doctor, nurse practitioner, and counselor on how to identify burnout, reduce mental health stigma, and advocate for your well-being and others’.
“Adtalem Answers” taps into our community of approximately 350,000 alumni and more than 10,000 faculty and staff members to answer your questions on healthcare and education.
Dhaval Desai, MD ’08, is the author of Burning Out on the Covid Front Lines: A Doctor’s Memoir of Fatherhood, Race and Perseverance in the Pandemic. He is a physician and director of hospital medicine at Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta. He graduated from American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine.
Dr. Mita Johnson is a faculty member in Walden University’s School of Counseling. She recently served as president of NAADAC, the association for addiction professionals. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a private practice and designations as a Master Addiction Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
Christopher Wojnar, BSN ’18, MSN ’24, is a graduate of Chamberlain University’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. He is a professional nurse, an international speaker, and mental health advocate with lived experience.
Read Part One: Adtalem Answers: How Can We Deal with Healthcare Burnout?
What is the definition of mental health stigma?
Dr. Johnson: Stigma is a word we throw around a lot. My definition of stigma is anytime we start talking in terms of those people versus us. Anytime we’re talking down about people. When I look at stigmas within mental health and addictions, they have been around “They just need to get willpower.” “It's their fault that they got addicted to a substance they should never have started to begin with.” “If they would just get out of the house and go do something, they wouldn't have depression.” “Anxiety? We all have anxiety, so they need to get over themselves.”
No one wakes up in the morning and says that they want to be addicted to anything. They already have their own shame and guilt. They’re already getting it from their families and their communities. They’ve relapsed hundreds of times. They already feel hopeless. Stigma just puts a bow on top of that shame. It makes it hard to go into treatment or talk to a provider, because the client is always on the lookout for being shamed and stigmatized by a professional.
How does stigma affect healthcare workers?
Dr. Desai: Physicians and other healthcare workers worry that if they identify themselves as having depression, anxiety, or some type of other mood disorder, they are going to be ostracized from their career.
I’m an ambassador for the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation. She was a physician who passed from suicide in 2020. They are advocating and making great headway on removing stigmatizing question about mental health in credentialing and licensure. Instead of asking “Do you have a history of any mental health or mood disorder?” they recommend changing it to “Are you currently impaired due to a substance abuse or acute mental health issue at this moment?” That’s a much more appropriate question.
How can healthcare workers safely share their mental health challenges in the workplace?
Wojnar: As healthcare providers, we’re often expected to project strength and resilience, but it’s essential to acknowledge that mental health challenges can affect anyone, including those who provide care. Creating a culture of safety and support within the workplace is key to enabling providers to openly share their mental health struggles without fear of stigma or professional repercussions.
The first step is fostering an environment of trust where mental health is treated with the same importance as physical health. This can be achieved by ensuring that leadership models openness and vulnerability, discussing mental health openly and providing access to mental health resources without punitive measures. Peer support programs, such as those that focus on lived experiences, can offer providers a safe space to connect with colleagues who understand their struggles firsthand.
Confidentiality is another crucial element. Providers need to feel confident that their mental health information will be treated with the same privacy as any other health condition. Workplace policies must prioritize this confidentiality, particularly industries like healthcare where licensure and job security are often tied to perceptions of mental fitness.
Finally, normalizing conversations around mental health through regular check-ins, mental health days, and access to mental healthcare like employee assistance programs can further reduce the stigma. When mental health is treated as an integral part of overall well-being, providers will feel safer seeking help early, ultimately allowing them to continue offering high quality care to their patients.
How do you combat mental health stigma?
Dr. Johnson: Stigma is a big deal to me. I think we need to start holding each other more accountable for how we think about people with mental health and addictive disorders. We can call people out when they're talking inappropriately.
Recently I was in a situation where somebody was making fun of someone with an addiction. I was horrified. And I told them that. I said, “please stop. Please don’t talk about people like that. They don’t deserve to know that people are thinking about them like that.” And they were shocked that I said something, but we stop it by speaking up and holding ourselves accountable.
What is the effect of mental health stigma on workforce shortages?
Dr. Desai: They need to acknowledge that it’s a real issue. We need to own it. We need to recognize that post-covid our healthcare workforce has changed dramatically. We need to recognize that the number of physicians who have passed from suicide is completely unacceptable. Employers and healthcare systems need to be proactive and acknowledge this is a hard job and that mental health issues exist. They need to offer support and be open about it.
What should I do if a healthcare provider discloses a mental health challenge they are facing?
In this video, Wojnar shares his personal experience.
If you are struggling with mental health or suicide, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
For more information, email the Adtalem Global Communications Team: adtalemmedia@adtalem.com.
