Mental health awareness has grown significantly in recent years. Public conversation has expanded, funding has generally increased, and campaigns have multiplied. But awareness alone does not close the gap between someone who is struggling and someone who gets help. Campaigns that reduce stigma-related barriers and reframe social norms around help-seeking in culturally responsive ways may move the needle, though. 

At Corona Insights, we’re proud that our work often includes engaging with behavioral health agencies, public health organizations, and the social marketing firms that design mental health awareness/stigma reduction campaigns. Our role sits upstream of any campaign launch, in the research phase, where the real work of understanding communities begins. 

Mental health is not a topic where assumptions transfer well. Formative research helps identify what is broadly true (the common fears, the shared hesitations, the language that resonates across very different people) and also where important distinctions and nuances emerge. A messaging framework that works for a wide audience may still need meaningful adaptation to resonate deeply with specific communities, and research can help tease this apart.

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This is why qualitative research, such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, or community listening sessions, is not simply a “bonus” for the mental health campaign development process, but rather a crucial inflection point where real people engage with a campaign and express their beliefs, fears, takeaways, etc. A message that tests beautifully among health professionals may land as tone-deaf, condescending, or even threatening among the community it is meant to reach. This is only brought to light by respectfully asking and engaging with the intended audience(s) of the campaign.

Furthermore, when agencies invest in formative research before launching a campaign, they are making a statement that the people they are trying to reach deserve to be understood before they are spoken to. Communities that have historically been marginalized, pathologized, or ignored by public institutions do not owe their trust to a campaign. That trust has to be built, and research can be the first step.

When a campaign reaches someone at the right moment with the right words and they actually pick up the phone or walk through a door, that outcome traces back to someone asking the right questions. Mental Health Awareness Month is a good time to remember to listen first.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an emotional, mental health or substance use concern, call or text 988 or visit 988Colorado.com to live chat.