There Is No Emotional Hierarchy That Qualifies You For Therapy

Therapy thoughts: There is no hierarchy of emotional struggle that qualifies you for counseling. That belief is a result of our cultural stigma, that “people need therapy” due to “issues.” I know we can all benefit from having a therapeutic relationship. A place for safe, unbiased, non-judgmental, psychologically supportive self-care where you are the focus. A place to look at vulnerable truths. A place where we can take off the mask, openly emote, and be validated and challenged.

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The problem, with the DSM as our guide and understanding folks in the view of illness severity, insurance codes, session numbers, and all that red tape of our mental health system, we start to quantify “need” and “functioning” which perpetuates stigma. It’s a broken system. “Sick enough” is just part of billing for services. I hate it, it’s one of the many reasons, I don’t work with insurance.

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To humanize mental health care, it will take a systemic shift in how we view mental health. I don’t believe in intervention only at the point of crisis. I don’t believe 6 sessions of CBT is mental health. Will it support it? Sure. But common, would we prescribe 6 gym sessions and say that’s physical health?

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Mental health support has to be normalized, accessible, part of our education system, and de-stigmatized if we wanna change the mental health game. I go to therapy. I qualify because my needs matter. I have a good amount of stress and pressure that needs to be released in a safe space. I’m a mom. I’m a partner. I’m a business owner. I’m bereaved. I’m human. I value health, my mental health.

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I’m privileged because I can afford it and I have insurance (which, by the way, I was denied for 10 years due to an eating disorder, one more reason I don’t work with insurance).

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We need an overhaul. Vote for mental health. Fight mental health stigma. Challenge internalized stigma. Therapists, go to therapy - we should all be clients. There is no hierarchy of emotional struggle that qualifies us & let’s remove the systems that block so many from access. I love seeing more therapists sharing free and cheap resources. It’s a good start! Let’s keep going. #mentalhealthmatters #therapythoughts