The other side of the fence: Iatrogenic stigma.

I found the below article quite thoughtful and well done. It’s in keeping with what I learned when I worked in the system as well. I’ve written about this issue quite a lot. I’m sorry the British Journal of Psychiatry denied it, but we can help pass it about this way.

I like how the author underscores that professionals need to tend to their own bigotry first which is something I write about often. The systematic “othering” of service users is toxic and certainly a cause of psychological and spiritual iatrogenic injury. I go so far as to consider that as human beings trying to figure out what the heck we’re doing here on this planet we are all peers, service users and professionals alike. This doesn’t sit well with everyone in the peer movement either, but as a suggestion to contemplate I believe that it eradicates any sort of hierarchy at all and for that reason deserves consideration. You can read my thoughts on the topic here: Mental health-related stigma in health care and mental health-care settings: response to journal article