Speaker(s):
Presentation:
Mental health professionals are trained to spot destructive symptoms and pathologize their client’s mental illness. But what we often forget is that what we think of as “mental illness” can often potentially be a collection of adaptive skills that have value during tough times. During the COVID-19 crisis, for example, many people with OCD and PTSD have found their former “disabilities” to be helpful traits that keep them alive.
Objectives:
- To recognize the power of stigma and shame, and to engage in conversation about how to alleviate that stigma and shame through nuanced storytelling
- To talk about how we can alleviate stigma and shame in sessions with clients, especially during diagnosis, instead empowering them to see their talents
- To acknowledge the adaptive and positive power of some mental illnesses