Figure 2

Model for decreasing stigma and improving medical student attitudes towards mental illness. The authors propose that changing medical student attitudes towards mental illness requires a combination of accurate knowledge, contact-based educational methods and attention to process factors. In this model, attending to the student’s internal experience of working with people with mental illness is particularly important as it provides an opportunity to correct misconceptions that have occurred as a result of student’s knowledge and contact-based educational experiences, and can help increase student confidence in working with people with mental illness.