title: Predictors of mental health care stigma and its association with the therapeutic alliance during the initial intake session.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the association between socio-demographic and clinical variables with mental health care stigma, and the impact of the latter on the quality of the therapeutic alliance measured at intake.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive clients (N = 236) filled questionnaires upon accessing services for a new episode of care. Immediately following the intake, a randomly selected sample of clients and their corresponding therapists (n = 102) completed the Working Alliance Inventory - Bond Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lower mean years of education and higher emotional distress (both partial r = .17) were significantly associated with higher stigma. Higher care stigma negatively correlated with therapists' ratings of the therapeutic alliance during the intake (partial r = -.22), but not with those of clients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Care stigma is present among service-users and may affect outcomes of the intake.
authors: a School of Psychology , Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya , Herzliya , Israel.
authors: Ora
authors: O
authors: Nakash
authors: Maayan
authors: M
authors: Nagar
authors: Itzhak
authors: I
authors: Levav
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000592:standards*; D057545:Social Stigma
keywords: access to care; intake; mental health; stigma; working alliance