“There’s been several moments in training so far that confirm to me that lived experience is not valued, and actively discouraged”
A member of in2gr8mentalhealth writes:
“I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year since I started my clinical doctorate. People ask me – how is it going? Is it what you expected?
I never know how to answer, or even what the truth is.
It is better than I expected, and worse. Sometimes I feel I have learnt vast oceans of knowledge, sometimes I feel I know nothing at all. I’ve had brilliant, beautiful moments of connection, seen people grow, change and heal. I’ve had moments when I wonder if we are doing more harm than good, and colluding with systematic oppression.
I’ve been reflecting on my year so far and my place as a clinical psychologist recently. I think part of what makes me do this is thinking of the parallels with what is going on in my personal life and how that affects me as a trainee.
I believe in the NHS, I think it is a wonderful thing and something to be proud of. But, I’m back in therapy myself, and have chosen to go privately. Partly that’s about time flexibility, and seeing someone straight away (and I am very privileged to have the finances to do that), but part of it is a sense that some people are not helped, do not fit in to the mental health system and can be harmed by it. I also am aware of how it could be perceived by my fellow trainees, teaching staff and colleagues.
And I know I’m not being paranoid in my reluctance to be more open.
There’s been several moments in training so far that confirm to me that lived experience is not valued, and actively discouraged …”
You can read more here.
