Taking a stance on minority mental health.
I have spent the last two years of my profession attempting to create spaces for expression, along with the people who seek out help for mental health. Through my conversations, one recurring worry and concern (among many others) was to ensure the stories that were not heard, or sometimes even not visible, would not be the cause or enabler of distress.
Since my introduction to the field of psychology and my eventual journey to become a part of the field, there have been things that I have learnt, gradually un-learnt and then re-learnt them. For instance, the idea and the common notion that therapy is a space for giving advice. Un-learning involved understanding that therapy was a collaborative space, a constant process of building a relationship together, one that would help the client. Re-learning that further, meant looking at where my position as a therapist was, in that relationship and not playing the “expert” on someone else’s life.
A neutral stance refers to the idea of not taking a stand. It refers to staying silent while seeing larger frameworks and power structures forcibly mould people’s lives and experiences.
Deepika
Taking a stance, like choosing not to play an expert, has always been a controversial space in the field of mental health. Taking a stance may bring out the fear of ignoring and worse, belittling someone else’s experiences by doing so. That was where I came from and swore by diplomacy and a neutral stance. A neutral stance refers to the idea of not taking a stand. It refers to staying silent while seeing larger frameworks and power structures forcibly mould people’s lives and experiences. One of the strongest arguments made for neutrality is that it is aligned with that of being non-judgemental, which is one of the fundamental cornerstones of therapeutic practice. At least it seemed that way for a while.
One of my greatest takeaways from being a mental health professional is learning to maintain the position of mindful curiosity. This has always facilitated my learnings as well as my practice as a therapist. When I think about being non-judgemental, it comes from that space of being curious, yet mindful of another person’s experience. However, when that experience is from the result of being failed by a system that is supposed to be fair and equal, it becomes unfair to be neutral. Taking a neutral stand would mean not acknowledging that and calling out the structures of power that has led to that experience. Taking a neutral stand would also mean, not being able to express genuine empathy.
Empathy comes with questioning why these things are a norm, why they only serve certain groups of people and what we can do to help make their voices heard.
Deepika
Trying to understand an experience also entails understanding that sometimes we are powerless to certain systems. Empathy is both a part and a by-product of that process. However, with empathy, comes the rage and powerlessness at not being able to do anything to fight whatever rules and regulations that helped him get the job, but not her or them. It comes with the will to fight when last names become a factor for decision making, when the criteria should be absolutely anything else. Empathy comes with questioning why these things are a norm, why they only serve certain groups of people and what we can do to help make their voices heard.
Research has stated that minority voices are dismissed, ignored, invalidated and even suppressed, leading to devastating impacts on their mental health. Research has also stated that taking a stance, such as choosing to be informed in neuro-diverse, queer-affirmative and diverse practices has also led to more people reaching out and asking for help. People experiencing multiple instances of being silenced and being told to ignore it, also tend to stop talking, when repeatedly being told to do so. Hearing that therapists and practitioners are willing to listen, are aware of the things they have been told, and more importantly are by their side while they are experiencing them, can lead to creating powerful safe spaces.
While there have been hiccups observed, the field of mental health has also opened up to a more intersectional approach. This means, very broadly, collaborating with fields to ensure mental health practitioners do not view people in a one-dimensional aspect, solely through their problems and their “coping skills”. It means understanding that people have identities and stories that interact with the problem. For example, the experience of anxiety will be different for an adolescent who is cis-gendered, heterosexual, upper caste and Hindu and for an adolescent who is cis-gendered, queer, upper caste and Hindu. Even within the cross sections of similar identities, there can still be one aspect of your life that can help view the problem in a completely different manner.
Taking a stand against them can speak volumes to the history of voices that have been silenced by the same structures.
Deepika
Postmodern approaches to therapy seek to understand the context, the various social identities and how they interact with the individual and the world around them. They look at the impact of the larger framework and the system on values, actions and beliefs held by the individual. This approach takes a stance on the nature of impact, frameworks and systems such as patriarchy, capitalism, caste systems and other social structures in that they have a history of benefitting a larger group of people. Taking a stand against them can speak volumes to the history of voices that have been silenced by the same structures.
How does taking a stance look? It can be adding a small rainbow flag to your desk or room, if you have one and reading and learning about queer affirmative practice. It can also be going for pride marches. It can be reading about experiences, unlearning what you know about a minority community and reaching out with wanting to hear and listen more. It can be understanding approaches and viewpoints that specifically help realign your approaches to make yourself more accessible to the voices of minorities. It can be going for protests, adding your stances to your card or your website. These are only a few of the many many possible ways of showing solidarity and empathy.
The journey to make your practice more accessible, inclusive and more diverse – more richer, is an extremely long one. Embarking on it can feel helpless, infuriating, dismissive but it can also feel more hopeful, just, inclusive and – right. Do your bit, pick a side, it’s 2020. The personal is political. Take. A. Stand. (And take the right one – left 😉 )
-Deepika
Hi, this is Deepika. I’m usually reading either 5 books at once or none at all. This month I decided to put down one of my regular rants on paper (or well, online, you get the gist). Currently I’m one of the four enthu cutlets on board with Tangent, silently and discreetly enjoying and throwing out incorrigible puns.
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