nursingforsocialjustice

I think that the time is now, for all of us to reflect on our thinking, our values, our beliefs, and the ways that they are enabling (promoting?) the perpetuation of social injustice. The snowball of being stuck in our ways is gaining momentum, rolling down the hill of moral judgement and familiarity; we need to take some responsibility in collectively stopping it. More and more I am reflecting on the role inaction plays in maintaining the status quo.  I think that taking action in stopping the ever-growing ball of judgment and blame involves us all taking a metaphorical step back, and asking ourselves some very tough questions, questions that involve some serious self-reflection, questions that may lead to some disorienting dilemmas (Mezirow, 1990), questions that we may not initially like the answers to. Listen to that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach that is amplified when we say or do the wrong thing, that uncomfortable and feeling that tells us that not all is as hunky dory as we initially thought, that maybe we are in the wrong.

We have to be brave in realizing that maybe doing the best we can is not really the best thing at all if we don’t actually know what the best thing is. We really have to explore how the structurally ingrained power differentials are negatively impacting the way that mental health professionals view people who seek mental health services. And seriously, in the bottom of our hearts chick-ity check ourselves befo’ we wreck ourselves (and a whole bunch of bystanders who were seeking help in the process).

Reflecting on Stigma and Stereotypes

Is it okay to dismiss someone’s concerns because they have a mental health issue? Is it okay to dismiss someone concerns because they have a substance use issue? If your answer is “no” then I want you to think back to those times that someone voiced concerns about the care they were being given, and think about your response, not a romanticized view of your response, your actual response. Actual re-collection of this response might involve asking other people that were involved in this conversation. What was your co-workers response? How did you feel about that? How did the person voicing the concern feel about it? Was the time taken to ask them?

Being dismissive can happen in very subtle ways, for example, listening to someone’s concerns and attributing it as, “part of their illness”. I do not think that it is a secret that sometimes non-patholical things, like emotional responses, become pathologized with people that are known to have mental health and addictions issues. Be brave, take that metaphorical step back and challenge yourself to really explore the concerns, and really ask yourself, is the care being given the best that it could possibly be, or am I stuck in a box preventing be from seeing other possibilities?  Being dismissive of someone’s concerns can happen in more blatant ways, for example, not following-up with someone’s verbal or written concerns with those in leadership positions. In practical application this can be tough. When doing this it might be helpful to also reflect on the impulse to throw your co-worker under the bus (co-worker can extend to other care providers in other services).

Who’s Responsibility is it Anyway?

I found myself at almost a loss for words recently when I was talking to a co-worker about the BC Mental Health Act. The question, how do we empower clients/those people certified under the mental health act to push for a review of the mental health act to become more human rights oriented because those people certified under the mental health act are in a position of less power. The questions that came out of my mouth was, why aren’t we, the health care professionals who know the value, the importance of human rights and social justice, pushing for a review?

Peace,

Michelle D.