Date of Completion

2024

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Social Work

Thesis Type

Honors College

First Advisor

Kelly Clark O'Keefe

Second Advisor

Danielle Jatlow

Keywords

mental health, stigma, social work, language

Abstract

An open question in the field of social work is: How does language impact social work practice? The language used in social work practice is powerful, as it can make service users feel validated or cause harm. The terminology and frameworks used in the helping profession can either strengthen or reduce existing stigma, and this review of current literature will explore the terms and frameworks that are being utilized to reduce stigma and also which terms to avoid when working in a helping professional role.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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