Dr, oh goodness I have so many feelings about this one.... Former foster kid and Troubled Teen Industry survivor here.... Most of the abuse I faced was actually IN facilities and perpetuated by other staff, psychiatrists, therapists, etc (occasionally other kids) however the amount of times I was told "this is for your own good" ooooof......
so Yes.... I feel this distrust deeply in my soul.... I am in my 40s so this unease is nothing new to me...in my case, my parents were definitely immature and at that time being gay was WAY more taboo however the actual abuse in the system from CPS and others is appalling...
For the longest time, I couldn't even talk about it because so many people said exactly this "they were trying their best" or justifying straight up abuse.... or I was told that I am "anti-science" "anti-psychiatry" or a scientologist. I don't identify as anything of those things, though I am psychiatry "critical"
I will say this as many times as I need to however, psychiatry and adjacent psychology fields have a long history of oppression that continues to this day.... while I don't see the world as black and white, and acknowledge that for some these services or medications have been beneficial, it will never erase what happened to me and countless others and what continues to happen to people stuck in the system.
and as much as I hate to admit it, I DO understand how people come to these extreme views I think this "moral injury" bleeds into poor care..... so those of us that do grow up, learn that these institutions were abusive... why WOULD we trust them? It took a very long time for me to come to a place where I will even get healthcare..... here is what I personally do.
1. I make sure that I have an advanced directive filled out and easily accesible
2. I always bring my wife with me as my advocate.
3. I am very upfront about the fact that I had a bad experience. Most nurses and docs understand this and I have found that it has cut down on negative experiences.
Late to the advocacy game, but I have been calling my two senators daily since last Friday. I remind myself that doing something, even though it’s not huge, is still important. I try to lesson my time on social media and/or find the non-political authors such as Niall Harrison who saves dogs in Thailand🥰 And Isabel Klee who writes/posts about her foster dogs in NYC and her dog Simon. ❤️. And, of course, read the excellent articles by you!
Dr, oh goodness I have so many feelings about this one.... Former foster kid and Troubled Teen Industry survivor here.... Most of the abuse I faced was actually IN facilities and perpetuated by other staff, psychiatrists, therapists, etc (occasionally other kids) however the amount of times I was told "this is for your own good" ooooof......
so Yes.... I feel this distrust deeply in my soul.... I am in my 40s so this unease is nothing new to me...in my case, my parents were definitely immature and at that time being gay was WAY more taboo however the actual abuse in the system from CPS and others is appalling...
For the longest time, I couldn't even talk about it because so many people said exactly this "they were trying their best" or justifying straight up abuse.... or I was told that I am "anti-science" "anti-psychiatry" or a scientologist. I don't identify as anything of those things, though I am psychiatry "critical"
I will say this as many times as I need to however, psychiatry and adjacent psychology fields have a long history of oppression that continues to this day.... while I don't see the world as black and white, and acknowledge that for some these services or medications have been beneficial, it will never erase what happened to me and countless others and what continues to happen to people stuck in the system.
and as much as I hate to admit it, I DO understand how people come to these extreme views I think this "moral injury" bleeds into poor care..... so those of us that do grow up, learn that these institutions were abusive... why WOULD we trust them? It took a very long time for me to come to a place where I will even get healthcare..... here is what I personally do.
1. I make sure that I have an advanced directive filled out and easily accesible
2. I always bring my wife with me as my advocate.
3. I am very upfront about the fact that I had a bad experience. Most nurses and docs understand this and I have found that it has cut down on negative experiences.
Late to the advocacy game, but I have been calling my two senators daily since last Friday. I remind myself that doing something, even though it’s not huge, is still important. I try to lesson my time on social media and/or find the non-political authors such as Niall Harrison who saves dogs in Thailand🥰 And Isabel Klee who writes/posts about her foster dogs in NYC and her dog Simon. ❤️. And, of course, read the excellent articles by you!