Are Mental Health Advocates, Qualified?

I remember seeing a news article recently about a new approach to emergency mental health situations with law enforcement, in which a mental health practitioner would accompany the officer to the call to bring a different type of expertise to the scene. I started thinking about this concept with great interest and how this type of interdependence can transfer over to many other facets of our mental health care model. Something that has been a recurring theme in my findings is the lack of trust patients have with some, but not all practitioners. Whether you’re a combat veteran, ex gang member or just a kid that was bullied and had your life ripped away from you, it takes a long time to forge trust with someone that hasn't been in the same trenches as you. For example, when I was court mandated to see a psychologist once a week for an entire year, it was not until the third month I started really opening up and trusting that professional, but when you’re suffering with suicidal ideation from complex post traumatic stress, that three months is a large window of opportunity to end your life. The majority of most people suffering from trauma or depression only see degrees, big words and judgement when they first come into those unknown environments, I know I certainly did.

This is why I believe it is imperative to have individuals that have overcome trauma & depression themselves to be side by side with mental health clinicians. This would promote a powerful connectivity and trust with the patient in a shorter period of time. I've attended many Alcoholics Anonymous & Narcotics Anonymous meetings in my past. Sometimes I would see people open up about very uncomfortable situations the first time they walk into the group. All because they were with their fellow misfits and have someone that has actually experienced hell on their level before. I read articles, studies and I'm obsessed with human psychology and improving mental resilience, but I lack certificates and degrees so can I really be taken seriously? Well, in fact yes I can, and I say this with a disclaimer, I’m not saying that I'm at the professional level know how of a doctor, nor do I feel like I am better or worse. I do know that from the age of nine to ten years old I suffered from childhood trauma, I went through the bowels of hell alone and for a long time forgotten. Fast forward nineteen plus years of being at war with my own mind, and finally in the last two years truly overcoming trauma to where I can say I feel safe, happy and completely self aware. I do believe that this internal experience of failure & growth is just as valuable as a degree. 

If you look at it from this perspective, you have a professional that in most cases, but not necessarily all the time, has not experienced this type of deep pain & suffering. They study, analyze and do their best to help us but they’re on the outside looking in. As mental health advocates, we are looking from both sides of the spectrum, because we we have seen, felt and experienced through these eyes already. We are an emerging super weapon on the front of the mental health crisis that is under utilized. Talk therapy was an adjunct tool to my success, it greatly helped me understand why I was doing what I was doing, but it fell short on knowledge of other tools that could also assist me on my journey. For example, it wasn't until I combined meditation with self awareness that I truly started to calm down my nervous system, and bring forward quality back into my life. Not once did I go through the standard channels of health care, and learn these pieces of advice. I had to go on YouTube and the internet to research ways to feel better, and I tried everything I could to reinforce my mind to extinguish the pain.

What I found out is that you need as many tools in your mental wellness box as you can muster, as not every tool will work under the constantly changing dynamics of life. I truly believe that perspective & experience are crucial in providing strategic care to all humankind. Advocates have a duty to share our personal stories and map out our trajectories in order to lay down the foundation for the next generation. Right now all that is visual to my eyes is walls of ignorance & bias, and a lack of interdependence among professionals. This is slowly changing, but the systems infrastructure itself provokes this social hierarchy, where others that should be very qualified from their life experience are brushed off as another recovering addict or trauma survivor. I know this because I have gone through it myself attempting collaboration, and this paradigm needs to be shifted immediately.

A carpenter that built a house from instinct learning from their failures, but did not go to trade school is as just as qualified to speak on how to build a house, if the houses foundation and framing meets the building code and standards. We need to start looking to those who have overcome their mental health challenges as experts, and harness their information, and spread it like wildfire to the masses. The tone of this article is not to say talk therapy isn't effective, because it truly was one of the pillars of why I am currently alive, but all I want is to bring a different voice to the table so that we can all innovate our mental health care model working together. Any voice of experience is invaluable to crafting a new platform for human beings to suffer less, and to not be left behind, simply because they are now aware there is a wide myriad of tools and resources at their disposal, instead of having only limited options. It takes many tools to build a house, not just one or two, and the sooner we integrate this perspective, the sooner tens of thousands of people are no longer living on our streets.

Sincerely,

C. Preston