So she doesn't talk about It She skirts It She avoids It She denies that she feels It She denies that she thinks It She denies that she does It
She is afraid It is abnormal She is afraid that I will label her "crazy"
I want to tell her that It is perfectly normal I want to tell her, this is what people do But I can't, because she hasn't told me about It Because she thinks I won't like her if I know about It So I wait And I watch As she gets stronger and feels safer and gets closer To telling me about It Without realizing I already know about It
A close colleague, Dave Ray, has posted an interesting article on his website about social work and politics. His observations about the place of policitics in social work is intelligent and germane. The same should be said of religious views.
Throughout the years I have worked with several clients who were criticized or rebuked by family members or Alcoholics Anonymous sponsors for using psychiatric medications as a "crutch". Yes.... and?
Throughout the years I've agonized when working with dual diagnosis clients who attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or any of their sister programs. Too often there are well-meaning people in the groups who take it upon themselves to give psychological or medical advice. All too often, this results in tremendous damage. One of the major offenders is the idea that any member of AA, CA or NA who is taking psychiatric medications is not "clean and sober". Not only is this bad advice it's not the official policy of AA.
... that is the question. A veteran of Vietnam was talking about his experiences in Vietnam, about coming home and about the trauma he experienced and about how others believed he should react to that trauma. The mental health professionals, the V.A., his family and his friends all wanted him to "heal". But what they meant by "heal" was to forget, to stop talking about it, to move forward as if nothing happened. But he disagrees. He doesn't want to "heal". He wants to remember.
I really have a problem with the recent surge in diagnosing children with Bipolar Disorder. The children I see with this diagnosis are often the victims of serious issues at home, issues which may even include abuse. Some struggle with PTSD and the mood swings which are inherent in a traumatized individual are attributed to "Bipolar Disorder" and medicated.
I think a lot of clients (and some therapists unfortunately) have a misconception that therapy should make you feeling nothing but good. This is simply not true.
I write a lot about the importance of feeling your feelings and being in touch with the messages thay are sending you. Perhaps this is because I rely so heavily on them in my everyday work. I cannot imagine being without them.
Yes, therapists have issues too. Anxiety was never mine until a few years ago. Prior to that I could intellectuallly understand that people said they were experiencing anxiety and panic, but I couldn't fully appreciate how bad it felt, until I had my own.
Therapists sometimes develop effective therapeutic interventions in very unusual ways. I discovered a powerful intervention for olfactory flashbacks by mere coincidence.
