In the probation system, it’s well established that mental illnesses can influence whether someone gets parole or probation or not. As a result, it’s important that people are given access to mental health resources, and that probation officers are trained so that their decisions are not biased.

Research from the University of Missouri highlights that there are over 4 million people on probation in the US, with around 15% of those experiencing some kind of mental health issue. The researchers developed an online training program for the Missouri Department of Corrections probation and parole officers to try and improve the treatment of people with mental health issues.

Reducing bias

The study put the program to the test and recorded the level of bias officers displayed before and after completing the training. The results show that even a modest amount of training can significantly reduce the stigma toward mental illness.

Each volunteer completed a survey to explore their baseline beliefs about mental illness. The aim of the training was for participants to better understand what mental health looks like and the symptoms that it can present.

“There are two main takeaways from this study,” the researchers explain. “First is that even very basic training can reduce stigma surrounding mental illness. We trained for about an hour or so, and even that minimal amount of training reduced the bias of the officers. The second big takeaway is that the larger their pre-test stigma was, the less change in stigma was tracked in the test after the training.”

In other words, the more bias participants have before starting the training, the less effective it actually was. Even if the impact is minimal, however, the researchers believe it is worth the effort in freeing people of their stigma.

“We tend to think of stigma as a huge issue, and that it is impossible to get somebody to overcome their unconscious biases,” they continue. “What this shows is that even moving the needle by just a little bit is better than not trying to address it and not moving that needle. If we can take small increments and move the needle little by little, we can take small steps that can make a large impact overtime.”

While the training is by no means a silver bullet that will solve bias towards those with mental health conditions, the authors hope that it will play a small part in improving matters.

“If we want to address this problem, we have to really think about who is being hired, who is interacting with these folks, and what their attitudes are coming in,” they conclude. “We have to think about how do we, from the very beginning of their employment, really set these officers up to take mental illness seriously, and not interpret a psychotic episode as a non-compliance?”