#therapists shouldn't have biases and prejudices!!!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starfishinthedistance · 1 year

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People need to stop acting like therapists and other mental health professionals all know everything there is to know about psychology and can never be wrong.

First of all, they can be (and many of them are) racist, sexist, ableist, etc either on a conscious or subconscious level. I've seen people say "I was denied an autism diagnosis because my psych didn't believe women could be autistic" and then there's dozens of comments saying "well they're a professional so they're obviously right!!! Just admit you don't have autism!!!" even when the person explicitly said they were denied a diagnosis because of a sexist and inaccurate stereotype.

And also, I guarantee you most psychs are not as educated as you think they are (which plays into the above point, they aren't educated enough so they have these biases). Despite how long they spend in school, they often come out knowing about MAD and GAD (without tangible causes) and CBT, and that's about it. Often times certain disorders get mentioned once for a single paragraph and that's it, and/or taught about incorrectly. I've heard people say that Split was shown as an accurate representation of DID in their psych class. Unless a psych has specialist knowledge in a certain disorder, it's safest to assume they barely know anything about it, unfortunately.

Even when it comes to well known disorders. I'd say most therapist are not trauma informed enough to treat PTSD and C-PTSD. I've had MULTIPLE therapists admit to me that they know barely anything about OCD and I had to explain to them how to treat me. They don't even know about PTSD and OCD, so how they hell do you expect them to know about dissociative and personality disorders???

This is not to say all therapists and mental health professionals are unqualified. This is to say that they have biases and prejudices, and that the psychology training system teaches you about depression and anxiety and not much else. So no, you shouldn't treat them like flawless gods that can never be wrong ever. So yes, sometimes they misdiagnose. Sometimes they fuck up. That DOESN'T mean that the patient is faking. And this ESPECIALLY means you shouldn't believe a therapist's take about a certain disorder just because they're a therapist. For example, all the therapists who are not qualified at all in personality disorders saying shit about "narcissists" and "sociopaths" (especially on social media, because they do that stuff for clout and don't care about facts).

So the bottom line is: stop assuming mental health professionals know everything. And if they don't specialize in a certain disorder, don't take their word as law. You wouldn't take a dentist's opinion on cardiology, don't take a depression/anxiety therapist's opinion on NPD.

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traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors · 2 years

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tw for mental illness, queerphobia, ableism, negative self talk, self doubt, violent fantasies, abuse (all kinds but sexual), mother abusing child (I'm the child), violent urges towards abuser

looking for advice and relief or comfort

Uh so, Idk if this is the right place to send it, but it does sort of have to do with my trauma ig. So I'm bisexual, aromantic, autistic, have OSDD, and schizophrenic.

If you noticed, those are all things that are said to be people who are "cold", "unable to love", etc.

I'm a kind of acerbic person I guess, I come off strong and I speak my mind. I have a dark sense of humor. But worst of all, something people don't know about me, is that I have really violent tendencies. I'm almost finished high school, and I spent the first fourteen years of my life unknowingly being severely abused by my mother, emotional, psychological, financial, and physical.

I've always had pretty violent fantasies, mostly aimed at being extremely cruel towards my mother. As I've grown, they've gotten more advanced, from wanting to hit her over and over to wanting to really torture her.

I feel so horrible that I think these things, it's disgusting to me. But most of all, I feel like such a betrayal to all my communities. We spend so much time proving that bisexuals aren't coldhearted sex machines, and that aromantic people aren't stone cold, heartless people. The bisexual-aromantic intersection is hard enough, and then you add that one of my OSDD alters is the most violently inclined one, and I'm perpetuating the stereotype that alters are murderous beasts. Plus I'm proving that autistic people don't love, and schizophrenic people are a danger to be around.

I feel like I'd be better off if I just held this all inside. I don't know. I feel like such a disgrace to my communities, and that I shouldn't tell people I'm any of those things, because my communities need good rep, not me.

(I'd like to clarify that I have never acted on these violent urges, not to people and CERTAINLY not to animals or any living thing. If anything, I overcompensate with animals and give extremely tender care to offset the violent thoughts in my head.)

Hi anon,

You're absolutely right that there is stigma against the things you described. It's not fair, but it is there. Like any stigmatized identity, it can feel like you have to be a certain way to make up for the prejudices others have.

You're not "proving" anything by being yourself. You are a real person. You cannot be a stereotype, no matter what you do. Being bisexual, aromantic, autistic, schizophrenic, and having OSDD do not mean you're inherently bad, dangerous, or violent. Please know that you are not responsible for other people's perceptions, biases, and judgements. Just because there is stigma doesn't mean it's correct or justified.

Human beings are not representation. You're a real person, not a character that was written by someone. You do not need to behave or think in ways that are perfect so that people (often bigots) think your identities are not inherently bad or violent. No matter what, people with ableist and queerphobic views are not your fault, nor your responsibility. If someone thinks that being bisexual, aro, autistic, schizophrenic, and/or having OSDD means you're more likely to act on/have violent thoughts or are more dangerous, they're thinking based on ableism and queerphobia. They are not someone whose opinion you need to respect. Bigots do not deserve to have their bigoted opinions validated.

A therapist would likely have had a client with violent thoughts, and even some clients who have acted on those thoughts. That doesn't mean the client doesn't deserve help. A good therapist should meet you where you are and make sure you feel safe enough to share these thoughts. You are absolutely allowed to reach out for help. Anyone who assumes you're a bad person is not someone you need in your life.

You are not a disgrace to the community. If anyone has made you feel that way, they're wrong, and they are a disgrace to the community. You deserve to be surrounded by people who accept you, seek to understand you, and give you respect, no matter your identities or issues.

Take care.

- Misa

#trauma talks #mod misa #tw violence mention #tw queerphobia #tw ableism #tw abuse #tw child abuse #tw violent thoughts

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