Thank you. I am a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania. I have worked in my field now for over fifty years. I tell you this not to boast my credentials but to cast a critical and skeptical eye on “ credentials and experience “. I worked mostly in public mental health? social services and juvenile justice. I had to deal with many differe…
Thank you. I am a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania. I have worked in my field now for over fifty years. I tell you this not to boast my credentials but to cast a critical and skeptical eye on “ credentials and experience “. I worked mostly in public mental health? social services and juvenile justice. I had to deal with many different situations. To cut to the chase: having to defend your mental health is intimidating and probably impossible. For eleven years I worked in crisis intervention and part of that job was coordinating involuntary commitments to psychiatric units. When I first took the job I was told that we were to provide least restrictive and invasive options to involuntary commitments. How naive I was. Hospitalizations was a money maker and involuntary commitments fed into that. Imagine having a business where if your business was slow, you could force your product or service on someone. Many of the people involved in involuntarily committing someone thought they were doing the right thing, even the professionals themselves. But in my eleven years I could count on one hand how many times an involuntary commitment was rejected as those well intentioned others would err on the side of caution and commit. And I would watch the person who was being considered for commitment. They were frightened and helpless in that no matter what they said or how they presented themselves , they were now viewed as mentally ill and there behavior viewed from that perspective.
Gjay15, you had a difficult task to perform and I imagine your heart was broken many times over. I give you so much credit for “sticking it out” for so long. My husband was a juvenile counselor in our county for over 25 years. It finally took a toll on him and he retired at age 52. He tried so hard to make a difference but kept hitting brick walls with management.
Marlene, thank you for your comment. Yes as you well know it can be heartbreaking and frustrating. After years of trying to work through the proper channels, I wrote a letter to the head of mental health at the state level. He without contacting me input sent my letter to the very people I had been trying to get to make changes. Soon after my supervisor called me into her office without telling me she knew about my letter of concern and reminded me out of the blue that bypassing the “proper channels can bd considered insubordination which could lead to termination. I told her that I was willing to work within the system but that I could not subordinate myself to do anything illegal, immoral or unethical. Two days later after almost 11 years at my job with excellent performance evaluations, I was fired. The only regrets I have is that I did not fight harder and sooner. Thank you again. Jay
Jay, I am so sorry that this happened to you! So unfair but maybe this was what you needed to realize you were not being supported. Has happened to so many people. I hope you were able to move forward.
Thank you. I am a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania. I have worked in my field now for over fifty years. I tell you this not to boast my credentials but to cast a critical and skeptical eye on “ credentials and experience “. I worked mostly in public mental health? social services and juvenile justice. I had to deal with many different situations. To cut to the chase: having to defend your mental health is intimidating and probably impossible. For eleven years I worked in crisis intervention and part of that job was coordinating involuntary commitments to psychiatric units. When I first took the job I was told that we were to provide least restrictive and invasive options to involuntary commitments. How naive I was. Hospitalizations was a money maker and involuntary commitments fed into that. Imagine having a business where if your business was slow, you could force your product or service on someone. Many of the people involved in involuntarily committing someone thought they were doing the right thing, even the professionals themselves. But in my eleven years I could count on one hand how many times an involuntary commitment was rejected as those well intentioned others would err on the side of caution and commit. And I would watch the person who was being considered for commitment. They were frightened and helpless in that no matter what they said or how they presented themselves , they were now viewed as mentally ill and there behavior viewed from that perspective.
Very nice and empathetic take on things, Gjay15
Thank you Daniel. It means a lot
Gjay15, you had a difficult task to perform and I imagine your heart was broken many times over. I give you so much credit for “sticking it out” for so long. My husband was a juvenile counselor in our county for over 25 years. It finally took a toll on him and he retired at age 52. He tried so hard to make a difference but kept hitting brick walls with management.
Marlene, thank you for your comment. Yes as you well know it can be heartbreaking and frustrating. After years of trying to work through the proper channels, I wrote a letter to the head of mental health at the state level. He without contacting me input sent my letter to the very people I had been trying to get to make changes. Soon after my supervisor called me into her office without telling me she knew about my letter of concern and reminded me out of the blue that bypassing the “proper channels can bd considered insubordination which could lead to termination. I told her that I was willing to work within the system but that I could not subordinate myself to do anything illegal, immoral or unethical. Two days later after almost 11 years at my job with excellent performance evaluations, I was fired. The only regrets I have is that I did not fight harder and sooner. Thank you again. Jay
Jay, I am so sorry that this happened to you! So unfair but maybe this was what you needed to realize you were not being supported. Has happened to so many people. I hope you were able to move forward.
Marlene, thank you for your kind response. Oh yes I moved on. I choose my battles. Jay