Shim YR, Eaker R, Park J. Mental Health Education, Awareness and Stigma regarding Mental Illness among College Students. J Ment Health Clin Psychol (2022) 6(2): 6-15 Original Research Article Open Access Page 6 of 15 www.mentalhealthjournal.org JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Mental Health Education, Awareness and Stigma Regarding Mental Illness Among College Students Young R. Shim 1 *, Rebecca Eaker 1 , Junkoo Park 2 1 Department of Psychology, Georgia Gwinnett College, Georgia, USA 2 Department of Mathematics, Georgia Gwinnett College, Georgia, USA Article Info Article Notes Received: August 05, 2022 Accepted: August 24, 2022 *Correspondence: Dr. Young R. Shim, Department of Psychology, Georgia Gwinnett College, 1000 University Center Lane, Lawrenceville, GA 30043, USA; Email: yshim@ggc.edu. © 2022 Shim YR. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Keywords: Mental health education Awareness Stigma College students Help seeking Abnormal psychology Abstract Objectve: The present study examined whether psychoeducatonal tools are benefcial in improving awareness and reducing stgma regarding mental health. This study aims to increase mental health awareness and reduce the stgma associated with mental illness. Methods: The study is quanttatve research. In this study, 147 students registered in the Abnormal Psychology course, which focuses on mental illness, were recruited. Students signed informed consent and partcipated in the study voluntarily. Students completed the demographic questons, Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale (BTMI), and Stg-9 questonnaire (stg-9). Results: Our fndings revealed a signifcant diference in beliefs and awareness about mental health and a decrease in stgma afer students completed the Abnormal Psychology course. The statstcal analysis revealed that students believe mental health is more curable and less embarrassing afer taking mental health educaton. Finally, our fndings demonstrated a direct impact of the educatonal experience on student attudes toward mental health. Conclusion: Our fnding indicates that mental health educaton is a promising tool to raise awareness and understanding and reduce the stgma regarding mental health. Providing students with mental health educaton and training enabled students to learn and understand issues with mental illness. This study demonstrated a direct impact on the educatonal experience on student attudes toward mental health. Introduction Mental illnesses are common, and many adults with mental health problems in the United States do not receive mental health care, even though treatments are available 1 . Globally, almost two-thirds of the population with mental illness do not receive treatment from medical professionals 2 . As a result, many people with mental illness remain untreated or poorly treated 3 . Researchers are increasingly emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness as many college students suffer from mental health issues and these challenges affect their lives 4-6 and their academic performance 7 . Unfortunately, many college students report having mental health concerns 8 , and only about one-third of students with psychological disorders receive mental health treatment 8 . Among college students, a lack of knowledge and awareness of on-campus mental health resources is a significant barrier to seeking mental health help 9 . In addition, about one-third of college students do not know that counseling services and support are available on campus 9,10 . While counseling centers have been utilized in recent years than in the