Quote:
Originally Posted by Shotokan Karate
I am really sorry about what happened to you. I would have found her statement to be offensive and judgemental, HANDS DOWN! She sounds like she is unempathetic and projecting on to you.
Also, a relative of mine is a psychologist who used to run a crisis center. I told her that I have had several bad workers when I called. That is when she told me about having to fire crisis workers for being insensitive and inappropriate over the phone lines. One worker was a nurse that was abusing callers on the phone. So, yes it is possible to get a very bad worker on a crisis line.
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Hi Shotokan Karate,
Thank you for sharing this!
I can't count how many times I've had to speak to directors on distress lines and explain to them that some of their behavior is unacceptable. Sometimes they aren't even willing to listen to the problem because they IMMEDIATELY become defensive the moment you mention someone on their line is unhelpful. It is that negative counter-transference problem and tendency to blame and shame the victim and protect their fellow friends and colleagues (classic problem in most workplace environments), especially easy when those of us who call into these lines have mental health struggles as it is. Add to the problem that there is literally NO oversight on these calls and they have the same power imbalance that therapists do in that they can write whatever they want about you with absolutely zero accountability. This repeats my abuse and shows that sometimes the source of the problem is with the Management and the training or the short supply of empathetic staff - especially in rural areas. It is a microcosm for toxic workplace environments and normalization of abusive behavior. Add to this the high propensity for empathy burnout and compassion fatigue - which many organizations do not acknowledge or even bother to admit - and they get burnt out and jaded and inadvertently have no more empathy to offer.
Really sad.
And the entire point of advocating is to improve the system, not destroy it. If they are unwilling to hear and listen to the negative experiences - how can they improve?
Thanks,
HD7970ghz