The Neutrality of Mental Health Causes Harm

I’m going to say it and it might piss people off: mental health is being neutral on Black Lives Matters and police brutality.

 

I follow a lot of mental health advocates, providers, organizations, schools, and so on, on social media both personally and with this blog. I’ve seen strikingly little in terms of statements in support of Black Lives Matter. This is a problem and I’m calling it out.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some statements, but I expected more. I wanted more. I wanted all of us to be stepping up and taking a stand.

I think I know why there’s relative radio-silence and the reason is not reasonable.

 

Neutrality.

In my education as a counselor, I felt like I was going to emerge into my working role a blank slate. I’d have to hide personal social media, be careful how I dressed and what I said in public, decorate my office in only generic but calming décor, and shut myself off unless home or amongst friends. I felt like that because that’s what I was taught.

In my time in internship, I got to know future professionals like myself who took another path to therapy—social work. Their education actually included taking part in advocacy as a curriculum requirement. That made sense to me—if we show what causes we advocate for we make ourselves safe for the people who’ve historically felt disenfranchised by therapy (some therapist are not good at managing their biases, unfortunately, and can do harm).

I expected, given most of the therapists I’ve seen in my local community got a degree in social work rather than counseling, to see that advocacy at work. Posts on social media similar to the ones being released by big box stores all the way to insurance giants aligning with the Black Lives Matter movement should have been flooding my feeds. But they weren’t.

There were statements from individual therapists—which, yay, is a good thing—but not from many whole organizations or businesses. There were statements of equality, rejection of racism, acceptance of all peoples—this is great, but it isn’t a true stance. It’s what was already supposed to be present in mental health.

Why not stand up and say, “black lives matter?”

What are they afraid of? I don’t know. Maybe looking bias when they’re supposed to be the blank slate of neutrality. Maybe saying the wrong thing or missing the point. Maybe they actually don’t support the movement, which I sincerely hope is wrong.

 

I’m not going to be afraid because I don’t have reason to. I’ve learned over time that a counselor is supposed to make people feel safe to open up. Someone whose been disenfranchised and hurt over and over by racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and ableism takes a chance on getting hurt every time they open up about these issues, so many may not bring them to therapy in fear of being hurt by their therapist.

How can anyone know if I, a white person, am safe to discuss what is happening out there right now (protests, death, unrest, police brutality, injustice, racism) if I don’t show I’m safe?

Mental health helpers, whatever your role, don’t be a blank slate. The people who need you most need to know you’re safe to come to. Make your stance known and be straightforward: BLACK LIVES MATTER!