Organizational Stigma and Destigmatization Through IP-based Development: A Case Study of the No. 600s Gallery at Shanghai Mental Health Center

Mental health institutions have long endured social stigma, which not only undermines their organizational legitimacy but also hinders the publics positive engagement with mental health services. Existing destigmatization research has primarily focused on individuals or groups, with insufficient attention to the systemic reconstruction of organizational images. This study takes No. 600s Gallery at the Shanghai Mental Health Center as a case to examine how organizational destigmatization can be achieved through the path of IP development. Findings reveal that the gallery, centered on art exhibitions, has created a multi-actor interactive pathway among hospital-patients-society. By re-symbolizing hospital space, it weakens the negative connotations of psychiatric settings. By re-narrating the process of treatment, it transforms patients identities from patients to artists, allowing them to gain recognition and respect in an artistic social context. By re-disseminating humanistic care, it extends mental health knowledge to the broader public while leveraging cross-sector collaborations to expand the influence of the IP. The IP-based practices of mental health institutions reconstruct and disseminate new symbols, providing medical staff, patients, and the public with a morally acceptable experience, thereby gradually dissolving organizational stigma. This research offers practical implications for the social communication and image reconstruction of mental health institutions as well as other stigmatized organizations.