Stigma and Discrimination

Promote Social Inclusion Social exclusion of mental health patients manifests in unemployment, lack of social networks, diminished social roles, and lack of economic and social participation. Because poverty, disability, and lack of social networks are in a mutually reinforcing relationship with discrimination and mental illness,59 it is an ethical and pragmatic imperative to actively promote social inclusion in this population.60-62 A deep cultural shift is needed to achieve social inclusion of patients with mental illness: both significant educational efforts for mental health providers and involvement of patients in the process are considered necessary steps in such an enterprise.61 Focus on Recovery and Quality ' of Life The recovery movement is a contemporary successful example of implbriienting patients' involvement in the clinical space.