Pamphlet - In all clinics for Survivors of Unethical Therapy; what goes in it?

The more I thought about it, the more I considered that the REDIMME phenomena shouldn't be on a continuum, but rather listed as an "escalation of force." Having a continuum means that there should be some level of statistical analysis for that. But having a qualitative-based "escalation of force" (like they describe in police training), might work best.

So the escalation of "inappropriate therapeutic force" includes REDIMME:

1. Ruptures (least force)
2. Emotional abuse
3. Dependency
4. Iatrogenic effects
5. Misdiagnoses and mistreatments
6. Malpractice
7. Exploitation (greatest force)

We would also need artistic volunteers to create a picture and/or logo for each of the 7 above as well as a logo/picture for the name of this venture, which brings me to the next question...

Also, what names would you like to consider for this venture? Think of creative names and we'll narrow them down to a poll vote (I think they allow up to 8 polls, maybe 10).

I think alternative approaches to achieve better/optimal mental health and balance are very important and that pamphlet would probably benefit from having such a section - for people who did not find therapy very useful - what else is there? It would also balance out all the discussion of negative and scary things. I have my own, very effective, list. There have been a few threads here on PC discussing those things as well. I often have the feeling that finding those potential useful approaches can be predicted to a certain extent because there are some strong parallels with people's personalities, thinking/emotional styles and preferences. If someone is not so aware of these or is misguided about who they really are, perhaps a function of therapy can be to identify them (instead of attempting to treat/cure the actual problems)... although I am not sure many Ts are good at guiding it. My second T likes to work with clients in this way a lot, to identify and utilize their basic values and strengths, then encourage clients to find compatible ways to improve their lives. I didn't do a lot of that with him because I was already very aware of what works for me when I met him (my issue was not doing them consistently), but I definitely believe in the approach because it was an essential part of my own self-work earlier in life and what I've figured out can be really effective if I do it, not just think and talk about it. Just remembered this from the mention of spirituality - versions of spirituality is definitely something many people turn to and find immensely helpful.

Add the infiltration of rape culture to the etiologies of some improper uses of therapeutic force. Rape culture largely includes victim-blaming, which is a form of secondary traumatic stress.

I posted about it elsewhere on PC. Do not have the links now because I am on my cell.

Also, rape culture allows sexual exploitation to be anything but a criminal sexual offense when some jurisdictions do not classify therapeutic rape as a sex offense.

Then there is the use of "complex" to describe PTSD and the misdiagnoses of other disorders that ensue because of victim disbelief, undermining, and victim-blaming.

5 types of psychiatrist negligence that can lead to a lawsuit

Can a Psychologist Be Sued for Malpractice? | AllLaw

An alternative to the therapy model altogether:

High Time for Anarchism in Mental Health - Mad In America

I think the potential success of alternative methods can depend a lot on the severity of a person's condition. There are situations when people just lose the ability to care for themselves and make realistic decisions. There is also the fact that self and communal help is useful but very often not sufficient (if these things were sufficient to resolve mental health issues, we would not be discussing these things because there wouldn't be a need for mental health treatment).

I went to a rehab facility once when I had a drinking relapse and got really scared that I would never be able to stay sober. It was a bit unconventional in a sense that most activities in the facility were voluntary. They basically created a beautiful, very pleasant, health-focused environment, with access to many different forms of (quite high-tech) professional and other kinds of help, and we could choose and combine in ways we wanted. The downside is that it was super expensive, private and not covered by insurance, exactly because too much of it and the structure does not comply with standard treatments. It is obviously a business enterprise for the owners and not for low-income clients. I found it helpful and was thinking how a more accessible and affordable version could be created, but it's hard to come up with - unfortunately management is almost always more motivated and involved when they get paid well for it. Also not sure about their long-term success. I very much liked the largely unstructured nature of it though because it fits with my personality well. I never like (or even accept) hierarchy unless it is established and maintained based on competency, not pre-determined roles. IMO, the biggest problem in society is that structure, hierarchy and leadership is often not determined based on competency but on all sorts of other sources of power. I'm not sure that will ever be eradicated or even changed much, but reasonably alternative movements are always important to balance it.

I think at the same time, we sometimes rely on mental health care in place of communal help. One of the problems in our current mental health system (and healthcare system in general) is the complete lack of options between hospitalization and outpatient care. Most people report that psych hospitals are a heavily coercive environment even for people who are there voluntarily. We just don't have anything for people who need support beyond one visit a week that doesn't involve coercion or infantilization.

We also tend to assume severity and trouble taking care of yourself necessarily correlates with trouble making realistic decisions. I know in my own history this was not really the case. I was at the point where I was having significant problems taking care of myself, but that didn't mean I necessarily was at a point where I needed forced intervention or was unable to judge what I needed. I was having a lot of problems with not sleeping and trouble eating due to nausea and loss of appetite, and I was having general difficulties taking care of myself because I just didn't have the energy for everyday life. In fact I remember one of the problems was that I would be openly telling my therapists how badly I was struggling and was treated like I was exaggerating. Rather I'd just get told things like "therapy is hard" or "it's normal to feel more anxious for a bit" and blamed for not trying hard enough.

I was fortunate that I at least had friends who were willing and able to make sure I was housed and fed while I recovered. But if I hadn't, there would have been very few options. And many of the options that are there prioritize "treatment compliance" in a way that strips away the client's ability to protect themselves if their treatment isn't in fact working. And the additional concern is a client may be falsely seen as unable to make realistic decisions simply because they don't agree with their treatment - or protest that it isn't actually helping!

The complaint I'd start with is how therapy, at least for me, seemed to proceed without any real checks or feedback. Even when I raised concerns, they weren't addressed at all. The assumption seemed to be that if I had objections, those were products of my disorder and therefore simply obstacles to treatment. This meant also that the actual ongoing abusive situation I was dealing with, as well as significant past childhood abuse, were ignored precisely because I wasn't seen as credible. Therapy was focused on treating my "anxiety" and getting me to accept that things weren't that bad, without any real work being done to verify if I was actually exaggerating,

That's going to be something that would have to be addressed as an issue. If we accept that some people might not be in a position to make realistic decisions, how do we determine that without imposing our own values and biases on people? I suspect in my case a lot of what happened was that a young adult with mental health problems making accusations against a very invested, middle class, two-parent family looked "crazy" and out of touch with reality. Someone might appear to not be making realistic decisions because they're not actually being offered realistic decisions or because we don't fully understand their situation.

Someone trying to protect themselves from an abuser will appear extremely paranoid and irrational if the abuse isn't acknowledged and taken seriously, but might in fact be making the best decisions available to them. Even within mental health issues, we have to separate, say, someone who isn't able to take care of themselves because they can't make good decisions, and someone who is suffering from exhaustion or motivation issues that could be addressed with appropriate support. There's an incredible risk any time we're allowing ourselves to decide some people can't decide for themselves that we'll end up using it incorrectly, and I don't think we're really addressing that enough, especially in settings that don't involve legal coercion.

I think if you want real options you have to stay away from mainstream healthcare. It's a dangerous parasitic monster and is not organized to make people well.

NEWSROOM | UHS Behind Closed Doors

Found this website. It has a lot of interesting links of abuse stories and failures of the medical system.

Thanks,
HD7970ghz