[token451]

It's what I feel like right now. I work at an inpatient facility for adolescents with different psychiatric diagnoses. They range from depression to borderline to bipolar. One of our biggest rules is to not disclose much about yourself to patients. Obviously it's very difficult to maintain relationships for the months these kids are with us without disclose some. We are a residential facility so rapport goes a long way. So many times I've wanted to just be like hey I get it, I have the same problems or similar problems or gone through similar trauma. Many times I give them above that I don't take myself. It seems like most staff there have had some issues they have dealt with or are currently dealing with but even staff don't share information much. It seems completely ridiculous at time talking about a patients care while not managing your own. How completely, utterly stupid.

[bioChE]

You’re not a hypocrite. You’re doing your job. You get paid, go home, and deal with your personal life. Just think about what would happen if you did disclose to the patients....the tables of stigma would immediately be turned and you’d start being judged by them as to your mental state and/or diagnosis.

I’d say it’s an unfortunate reality of the profession you’re in. For example, if my psychiatrist had or has bipolar disorder or some other psychiatric diagnosis, I really don’t want to know about it. What I do care about is that he’s a competent medical professional with training and credentials to do his job effectively. I really don’t want to know on a personal level his struggles, whatever they may be.

[SparkySmart]

Well, Token, I was just discharged from a psychiatric facility on 11/8. The staff disclosed their personal histories to me rather freely (but I was one of the few high-functioning patients who could engage in conversation), and some were RNs. Now I don't want to hear this from my pdoc, for sure; I would prefer that he be free of mental illness so that he can focus on getting me well and not be fighting his own demons. I agree that disclosing to teenagers may be risky, though...they may not be mature enough to understand that we all carry our own burdens, mental illness or not. You're not a hypocrite, though. You're dealing with a population that is egocentric and needy; it's probably in your best interest to not share.

Every person I’ve known has been a hypocrite at one time or another. The alternative would be to give people bad advise we know will only lead them to harm. Does that sound like a viable alternative? Of course it doesn’t! What works for one, may and often does not work for another. We do our best and you caring about your hypocrisy means you are likely not engaging in it as much as most.

A few decades ago when I was hospitalized with what I now know was a bad mixed episode, I was not listening to ANYONE in the facility. One of the counselors divulged his diagnosis to me claiming he was not suppose to do so. He ended up being the only person I was willing to talk to at all. If your job is on the line I would not disclose but I don’t feel these rules are helpful. Obviously we are failing hugely in treating mental illness and problems with youth.....people and children are still dying. I don’t think people who have not dealt with mental illness should even be in the field at all.......they cannot possibly understand and have too many biases they can’t see through. Just my opinion which isn’t worth much in the current economic/social climate.

Thank you for what you do and don’t beat yourself up for being human.

[CaminoDeOro]

This is probably really a case by case thing, especially working in a residential facility.

That being said, in DBT skills class, our teacher has chosen to be quite revealing of how she has applied skills in difficult situations in her own life, in a way that makes clear that she uses them because she NEEDED them at one point in the same way that we do. Nothing TOO deeply personal but her family comes up now and then. She does it in a way that makes it a lot easier to connect with her. DBT isn't inpatient, but there is a place for this I think.

A lot of blanket policies are written for the lowest common denominator. Disclosing info like this CAN backfire and it does take skill and mindfulness and not every clinician will be capable of that, so in terms of policy, it's better from the eye of the organization just to ban it completely.

The best mental health professionals I've worked with over my LONG history in the system were the ones who would bend the rules when it was called for.

[WildcatVet]

I work in a different medical field, but I've learned that compassion and caring go a long way, but when you start to share or put too much of your heart and self into it...Bad News!
It'll backfire every time.