The stigma of mental illness is still a major challenge for psychiatry. For patients, stigma experiences and self-stigma are associated with reduced quality of life and increased vulnerability to a more chronicle illness course. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of validated therapeutic approaches addressing strategies for coping with stigma.

A manualized psycho-educational group therapy for stigma coping and empowerment (STEM) should be tested for efficacy in patients with depression and schizophrenia. The study was funded by a research grant of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

A cluster-randomized RCT with two arms including 30 mental health care services (psychiatric inpatient services, day-units, and outpatient services, as well as inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation services) was conducted. The intervention consisted of 8 sessions regular psycho-education group therapy and 3 sessions addressing stigma coping and empowerment. Controls received 11 sessions regular psycho-education. Primary outcome variable was quality of life (WHO-QOL). Assessments were conducted directly before and after the intervention, and at 3, 6 and 12 months follow-ups.

A total of 469 patients participated and more than 300 participants (approx. 65%) completed the 12-month follow-up. First results of the analysis will be presented at the conference.

Since the statistical analysis is currently in progress, no conclusions concerning the efficacy of the tested therapeutic approach can be done by now. Nevertheless there is a strong need for supporting patients in developing positive stigma coping strategies. STEM is the first therapeutic approach to our knowledge tested for efficacy in a RCT.

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.