This was an interesting question that a person on Quora asked and here is how I answered it:
This is a great question.
Every person is going to have their own individual values and biases based on how they were raised and any negative events that may have negatively affected them through life.
It is imperative that anyone who is working with others realize that it is never okay to foist one’s own values and beliefs onto a patient or client. The goal is to work within the patient’s or client’s value system respecting it for what it is.
The problem is that many people cannot discern themselves and their values and beliefs from others therefore falsely believing they have ‘the answer’ to living a great life, evangelizing their own values and beliefs.
The other issue that is brought up in this question is that of therapists with their own biases. Again, the work is based on the client and has very little to do with the personal ideals of a therapist. The therapist’s role is to focus on the patient’s best interest and that interest always has to do with helping the patient to heal. This is the only reason for a patient to be seeing a therapist, so it is mandatory for the therapist to keep personal biases out of the session work.
Again, many therapists have not done their own work of healing, therefore, carrying around a lot of false notions about what their role is. Unfortunately many do not receive the guidance needed to fulfill their roles in an ethical and helpful way in training or post-training compounding the problems you raise.
I would also add that those with licenses to protect, will force their patients to do things that may be unnecessary in the higher need of ‘covering their asses’ in the cases where they are concerned for the patient’s wellbeing. Too many are incapable of truly hearing the answers to their own questions looking for reasons to have a psych evaluation, or continuing a patient on drugs that are not only not helping the patient function, but are causing mental, emotional, or physical problems because the therapist is fearful of what may happen if the patient is taken off the drugs. This is why so many mental health patients complain about being forced to figure out for themselves how to get off these mind-altering and all to often physically toxic drugs.
These are real issues that I have had to help my own clients contend with over the decades that I have been in mental health so they are real and need to be respected for what they are. It is impossible for another person to understand what the patient is experiencing themselves – the only thing they can do is listen carefully and change the course of treatment if that is being requested due to unnecessary duress on the part of the patient – but many will not do this for the above reason.
Most licensed therapists will never admit that these are real problems, instead stating that the patient is incapable of knowing what is going on in their own body, which of course is a bunch of garbage, one more way that those with the stigma of mental illness are further marginalized.
So, the best course of action is to find a therapist that one feels comfortable with because that therapist is emotionally healthy, and is able to respect one’s input regarding the type of care given with the understanding that the therapy and medication need to benefit the patient regardless of what the therapists own values, beliefs, or biases may be. That means finding someone who is capable of both listening to the patient’s concerns and taking the actions needed for the comfort and capacity to live a decent life of the patient – for they are there to serve the patient, not further marginalize and demean them because they have the ‘fancy letters after their names.’
Thanks again for this question – it is one that the therapists will not be able to answer honestly because they truly believe that they do everything possible to help their patients when the facts do not bear this out – as noted by the many questions by patients asking why it is so difficult to find a therapist that can and will truly help them – right here on Quora – I receive this type of question way too often to believe otherwise.
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About Suzanne
Suzanne Kellner-Zinck founded Dawning Visions Hypnosis in 2002, She has become an innovator in the use of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming in the areas of obsessive compulsive disorders such as: eating disorders, sexual addiction and substance abuse as well as working with those with anxiety and mood disorders.
Her clients have come to work with her from across the United States and as far away as Africa to help them to finally be freed from these emotional issues that once ruled their lives. Today she is in the process of bringing her work to many more in the form of ebooks and other downloadable formats.
She is a member of American Holistic Medical Association and the American College for Advancement in Medicine.
Prior to founding Dawning Visions Hypnosis, Kellner-Zinck worked within vendor programs for the mentally ill working to help them to live up to their fullest potential. Many of her previous clients were able to move out on their own and find fulfilling work.
Kellner-Zinck is a Certified Trainer of Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic programing through Tad James Company, Inc. and a Master Hypnotist and Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming through Advanced Neuro Dynamics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and political studies from Curry College.
Dawning Visions Hypnosis is teaching people that they can indeed leave their unwanted behaviors behind as they move forward to living fulfilling and joy filled lives.