Quote:
Originally Posted by HD7970GHZ
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
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You are welcome!
As soon as I saw your post I needed to tell you what my relative, the psychologist, mentioned to me.
Anyway, I really agree with what you have said. Workers could be getting burnt out from compassion fatigue and possibly dealing with an unsupportive management style. And there is a good chance that there are conflicts between coworkers. Then workers taking their frustrations out on callers. This takes place at so many work different types of work environments.
And unfortunately some people on the phone lines are just bullies. My relative spoke a lot about the nurse that kept bullying callers.
I would often wonder if people answering those lines need to have more training in mental health. Some information and referral help lines require workers to have a master's degree in social work or counseling to just give out information on the phone lines. I wonder if crisis workers should be master's level mental health workers to be on the phone lines or at least have those in training to become mental health professionals rotate through the crisis lines. Then the crisis lines will have to be screened because students in training need to be supervised closely. Just throwing this out there as far as crisis lines go. But something has to change.
I am just sorry that you are having to deal with all of this abuse.
If you would like to talk more about this, you can PM me.