"Psychological Stigma" Study by Psychology Department Students

Senior students of the BAU Department of Psychology drew attention to stigma with a presentation they gave in the "Group Dynamics" course taught by Assist. Prof. Dr. Oya Mortan Sevi.

Fourth-year students of the Bahçeşehir University Department of Psychology and Assist. Prof. Dr. Oya Mortan Sevi carried out a study to draw attention to stigma, also known as "psychological stigmatization". Under the motto "Stigma Starts with Language", the students made comments raising awareness of this issue, which has become a social problem.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Oya Mortan Sevi said: "Stigma, especially towards individuals with mental illness, is a very broad and generally neglected issue. Our aim in this presentation was to emphasize that stigma manifests itself first of all through words and can have devastating consequences for the individual and society."

Stigma, also known as psychological stigmatization, can be defined as the destructive beliefs and attitudes of a society or community towards a group or individual. Through 'labeling', which arises when words such as "stupid, schizophrenic, crazy, autistic" are used to define an individual or group, the labeled individual or individuals are discriminated against and excluded.

Emphasizing that the solution can come through social change, Assist. Prof. Dr. Oya Mortan Sevi said: "The first step in changing this language will be to raise awareness in every segment of society. As knowledge increases, prejudice, labeling, discrimination and stigmatization decrease."