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Abstract or Description

To explore the extent to which stigma permeates the field of psychiatry, this project, entitled “LABELED”, involved writing a series of structured poems for ten commonly stigmatized mental illnesses: anorexia nervosa, antisocial personality disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and substance use disorder. The shortest poems in each set focus on stereotypes and first impressions commonly held about these disorders while the longer poems center around the identity of these individuals beyond their diagnoses. Amongst each set of poems, there is a recontextualization of the words shared between them to further demonstrate the deconstruction of negative stereotypes and humanization of the patients that occurs after going beyond one’s initial assumptions.

Each section is distinguished by a derogatory term that has historically been used to refer to these patients, highlighting what is all too often the very first impression one has of these patients. The poems in each set are named for descriptions of what may be observed in an initial presentation to an emergency department, a new patient visit at an outpatient clinic, and finally the established patient visit to model a patient’s navigation through the healthcare system. The progressive lengthening and greater inclusion of detail in the longer poems mirrors how we get to deepen our understanding of patients as we spend more time with them.

Publication Date

3-20-2025

Disciplines

Medical Education | Psychiatry and Psychology

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