Course Description

Stigma is a significant yet often overlooked factor affecting mental and physical health, as well as overall quality of life. This four-session course provides psychologists and health professionals with a comprehensive understanding of stigma, including its origins, impact, assessment methods, and strategies for mitigation. Participants will explore how stigma affects various populations and examine evidence-based approaches to reducing its harmful effects at individual, societal, and structural levels. By the end of the course, attendees will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to identify, assess, and address stigma in their professional practice and advocacy efforts.



*There are no conflicts of interest to report.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the sources of stigma (physical, tribal, moral, servile, emotional, associational).

  • Differentiate the types of stigma (enacted, public, anticipated, self).

  • Analyze the characteristics of stigma (concealability, controllability, centrality, disruptiveness, malleability).

  • Explain the functions of stigma (social meaning, preserving the social order, control of resources, sidelining the competition, disease avoidance).

  • Assess outcomes of stigma at an individual level (depression, powerlessness, lowered quality of life, self-harm, self-stigma).

  • Evaluate the outcomes of stigma at an interpersonal level (concealment, relational aggression, bullying, avoidance of healthcare).

  • Examine the outcomes of stigma at a structural level (difficulty getting jobs and housing, inferior healthcare, segregation).

  • Demonstrate means of assessing stigmatization.

  • Propose multiple solutions to minimize the impact of stigma.

Course Curriculum

1 Continuing Education Credit

  1. Course Introduction

  2. Module One: Understanding Stigma – Origins, Processes, and Impact on Health

  3. Module Two: Assessing Stigma – Tools, Methods, and Measurement

  4. Module Three: Stigma and Health – Examining the Impact on Diverse Populations

  5. Module Four: Breaking the Cycle – Strategies for Reducing Stigma and Overcoming Barriers

  6. Conclusion

Course Highlights

  • 4 Continuing Education Credits
  • Four Module Course
  • $108.00 to $120.00

Instructor(s)

Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences Steven Sussman, PhD

Steve Sussman, Ph.D., FAAHB, FAPA, FSPR, received his doctorate in social-clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1984. He is a professor of preventive medicine, psychology, and social work at the University of Southern California (USC), and he has been at USC for 40 years. He studies etiology, prevention, and cessation within the addictions arena, broadly defined, as well as translation research and program development. He has over 500 publications. His programs include Project Towards No Tobacco Use (young teen tobacco use prevention), Project Towards No Drug Abuse (older teen drug abuse prevention), and Project EX (older teen tobacco use prevention/cessation), which are considered evidence-based programs at numerous agencies (i.e., CDC, NIDA, NCI, OJJDP, SAMSHA, CSAP, Colorado and Maryland Blueprints, Health Canada, U.S. DOE and various State Departments of Education). He received the honor of Research Laureate for the American Academy of Health Behavior in 2005, and he was President there (2007-2008). Also, as of 2007, he received the honor of Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 50, Addictions). Also, as of 2019, he received the honor of Fellow of the Society for Prevention Research. He is the current Editor of Evaluation & the Health Professions (SAGE Publications; since 2010). His newest texts are: Substance and Behavioral Addictions: Concepts, Causes, and Cures (Cambridge, 2017) and The Cambridge Handbook of Substance and Behavioral Addictions (Editor; Cambridge, 2020)

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