The Impact of Mental Health Education on Reducing Stigma and Promoting Help-Seeking Behaviour: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Stigma remains one of the most formidable barriers to mental health care worldwide. Despite decades of clinical advances, a substantial proportion of people experiencing psychological distress do not seek professional support, citing shame, fear of judgement, and internalised stereotypes as decisive deterrents. Mental health education — delivered across schools, universities, workplaces, and community settings — has been widely proposed as a corrective strategy. This systematic review synthesises empirical evidence examining whether and how mental health education programmes reduce stigma and facilitate help-seeking behaviour. Drawing on literature published between 1995 and 2024, the review evaluates psychoeducational programmes, contact-based interventions, social contact strategies, and mass media campaigns, with attention to outcomes across personal and perceived stigma, attitudinal change, and help-seeking intentions and behaviour. The findings indicate that well-designed, theoretically grounded mental health education can produce meaningful reductions in stigma and measurable improvements in help-seeking, though effects are often modest and variable. The review identifies pedagogical, contextual, and methodological factors that moderate effectiveness, and concludes with recommendations for practice and research.

Keywords: Mental health education, stigma reduction, help-seeking behaviour, mental health literacy, anti-stigma interventions, contact-based education, public attitudes.