Erica Thomas

On the 2021 Master of Professional Psychology research team, Erica examined how diagnostic approach and labelling shape clinician stigma toward borderline personality disorder. In an experiment with 153 mental-health professionals randomised to categorical, dimensional-with-label, or dimensional-without-label conditions, the team found that providing any diagnosis reduced stigma, but dimensional framings did more to lower negative affectivity — while the question of label inclusion versus exclusion remained contested for clinical utility.