Patrick Corrigan

Patrick Corrigan is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology's Lewis College of Science and Letters, where he serves in the Department of Psychology. He directs the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) and is a core faculty member in the Division of Counseling and Rehabilitation Science. As principal investigator of the National Consortium on Stigma and Empowerment, he leads collaborative research across over a dozen institutions focused on mental health stigma reduction and empowerment strategies.

Education:

• Psy.D., Illinois School of Professional Psychology (1989)
• M.A., Clinical Psychology, Roosevelt University (1983)
• B.D., Physics, Creighton University (1978)

Research Focus: Dr. Corrigan's work centers on stigma and discrimination related to mental illness, health disparities, and psychiatric rehabilitation. His pioneering research examines how stigma limits access to psychiatric services, with recent extensions into social determinants of health including ethnicity, religion, gender identity, and socioeconomic factors. He developed the Honest, Open, Proud anti-stigma program and leads initiatives integrating primary/behavioral healthcare through community-based participatory research (CBPR) frameworks.

Publication Trends: Corrigan's extensive publications (500+ peer-reviewed articles) consistently address stigma reduction, health equity, and psychiatric rehabilitation. Recent works demonstrate methodological diversity—from randomized trials of virtual reality interventions to cross-cultural studies of stigma in Asian and African-American communities—with strong emphasis on practical applications for improving mental healthcare systems.

Honors:

• 2022 APA Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest

Leadership & Training: He established the recovery support specialist certificate program at Illinois Tech and oversees CHEER's national leadership in peer support workforce development. As editor of Stigma and Health (APA journal) and editor emeritus of the American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, he shapes scholarly discourse in the field.

Laboratories & Teams: Directs the CHEER research center and the National Consortium on Stigma and Empowerment, supervising graduate researchers including Katherine Nieweglowski, Karina Powell, and Sang Qin. The team specializes in CBPR approaches to address health disparities in marginalized populations.