Addressing the Conflict Between Promoting Wellness, Perpetuating Mental Illness Stigma and Making Psychiatric Pharmacy Education Less Intense

One in five Americans has a diagnosable mental illness and pharmacists encounter these patients daily. This commentary addresses the conflict between the profession’s wellness movement and its contributions to mental illness stigma. The need for improved pharmacist wellness is based in the profession’s risk for burnout and development of related mental illness. The presence of stigma towards patients with mental illness by pharmacists is multi-factorial and complex. Risk for mental illness stigma from the profession could be diminished by curricula that provide greater opportunities for students to learn more completely about mental illness, how to effectively engage persons with mental illness, and how to take care of themselves, express vulnerability, and talk about mental illness. While reducing mental illness stigma through curricular revision is best achieved through in-person learning experiences, elective coursework and co-curricular activities may also help achieve this goal. Examples of evidence-based best practices are provided.