Stigma and Disclosure (UNITE Project - Video 1, Staff Series)

Warning: This video features stories some viewers may find difficult to watch. For support, please visit https://www.crisislines.bc.ca or call 310-6789.
Storytelling. It has been used for eons to bridge worlds between people, uniting them.

This three-part animated video series shares the voices of healthcare workers with lived and living experience of mental health and substance use challenges. It explores the stigma they have faced in their workplaces, the impact it has had on their identities and careers, and their hopes for a future where lived experience is seen as an asset.

Three staff members were brought together by BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services to share their personal journeys. Through open and honest discussions, guided by words of encouragement from peers with similar experiences, they reflect on the biases they have encountered, the barriers they have navigated, and the ways they have found healing and belonging within healthcare.

This is video #1 of the three-part series. It looks at the ways stigma shows up in workplace culture and the challenges of being open about one’s lived experiences.

Led by BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services, these videos are part of the Understanding Each Other Together (UNITE) Project: a journey into our experiences of stigma to celebrate diversity and create change. The videos were created in collaboration with a project team of student designers, faculty, and staff from the Emily Carr University Health Design Lab.

Our highest hope is to disrupt stigma, challenge stereotypes, and highlight the positive role that lived experience can play in shaping compassionate and effective healthcare and work environments. By sharing these stories, we create space for more dialogue, more understanding, and more change—together.