Shadow Work: The Privilege of Therapy
The stigma around attending therapy is fading somewhat. But the shadow side of that trend is some folks expressing a flavor of contempt over others who that ARE NOT in therapy.
Y'all. Therapy is really not accessible. If you are lucky to have insurance with mental health coverage, the logistics are still likely to be a nightmare. Often, great therapists only accept private pay because dealing with insurance sucks (and as for-profits tend to be inclined, they will do everything possible to not pay your therapist).
Financial access intersects with issues around identity - gay, genderqueer, POC, fat, disabled, etc. folks are NOT guaranteed safe space in therapy. Therapists are known to be as rude and invalidating as any other health professional. Plus! Therapists are mandated (and sometimes happy) to call the cops on their clients in certain situations. Idk about fields outside of mine, but 83% of psychologists are white. 83%! Forgive me, but there are minimal situations where I would automatically trust a strange white person in a power-over situation with such dire risks.
In summary, allied and accomplice therapists are hard to find & (likely) expensive, a.k.a. inaccessible. What does it look like for us to express contempt over something inaccessible to most people? I'll tell you: It looks like reproducing the power hierarchies we’re trying to tear down. And that won't do at all.
If you have the means, share: Fund others' access; tell people about your rad therapist; share what you learn in therapy with your dear ones.
Help dismantle the systems that harm in the first place, so less of us have so much to heal from.
American Psychological Association.(2020).Demographics of U.S. Psychology Workforce [Interactive data tool]. http://www.apa.org/workforce/data-tools/demographics.aspx
@wagatwe @theindigenousanarchist@coll3eng