Help me please

@chibam Definitely agree with your first point. It needs to be a dual approach - system reform will influence cultural change and vice versa.

I will also say that I don't think it's fair that anyone should have to wait for the MH system to catch up. It's okay to be angry about that. I just wouldn't want that to stop anyone from trying to find support.

As for your last post - I wholeheartedly agree. Streamlining and better describing services would be a game changer. It wasn't until I actually studied mental health that I realised the difference between a counsellor and a psychologist. People shouldn't have to go to uni to be able to understand what supports will suit their needs best.

@Historylover Agree that both sides of the equation need to be acknowledged. I think it's good to avoid generalising where possible, but not try to hide things either. It's a difficult balance, which is why I do appreciate you sharing your story.

I'm off gang, have a good night all 💜

You can only bring balance by not discounting and negating people's broad experiences and observations, @Jynx. Perhaps when people are not so blindly trusting, and expect more than medication and a weekly chat, and privately question their progress or lack thereof, that change may come about.

Hey @ArraDreaming

Thank you so kindly for saying that.

I want to acknowledge that I understand the mental health system has failed people and I think that's awful. But as peer workers on these forums, myself and all the peer workers I have worked with in these last few years do their utmost each day to support others.

The peer workers here at SANE never fail to amaze me with their passion, knowledge, and big hearts full of empathy for others. We are unique in this role as we share our own lived experience of being mentally unwell and often this leaves us vulnerable. But we continue to work towards doing our best, improving ourselves so we can be more understanding of the situation of others.

So thanks, friend, for voicing your appreciation of us.

Hanami

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@Jynx wrote:

It wasn't until I actually studied mental health that I realised the difference between a counsellor and a psychologist.

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I still have no idea what the differance is, @Jynx .

@hanami, I don't think that any of us would deny that there are bad eggs in the system. And that's an issue that needs to be fully called out and addressed. Often I wish we could just have those conversations without having to stop every 5 seconds to acknowledge that there are indeed good people in the same industry. That, too, is a point that I think very few would argue; but it's hard to have the other conversation properly when we seem to be compelled to do two things at once.

I haven't seen any barbs here launched specifically at the SANE staff, so I doubt any offense was intended towards you and/or any of your colleagues. I think that criticisms that have arisen have been more towards the overall mental health system. For all we know, the SANE team may be a really good, dedicated band that are of exceptional quality, compared to the remainder of the system. I don't think anybody here has argued otherwise.

That being said, even if they are so excellant, perhaps there is still wisdom they can gain by listening to the dissatisfaction of people who have been wronged or neglected by the system?

It is clear that their is badness in the system. (A little? A lot? Who know? There isn't a clear picture of the magnitude.) Perhaps SANE could respond to that reality by seeking to be a direct contradiction to that badness? To strive to clean up the messes that other therapists have made? To help people where other so-called helpers refused to do so?

@chibam There is always more wisdom to gain, yes. I've never felt the 'barbs' have been directed at us by you. But (and not necessarily this thread) other passive-aggressive words have been directed our way and some more explicit emails that are pretty hurtful. I'm very open to constructive criticism but sometimes it's like people forget we are humans with feelings and as peer workers we've all had our own lived experience - that's a critieria for our role. So it can get quite draining sharing so much of ourselves. That's what drew me to the role in the first place so I'm not saying I don't like that part of it - I absolutely do.

Anyway, besides saying that, I want to add that 100 percent it is in the back of my mind all the time that people have been wronged by not only the MHS but other systems. Soooo much systemic injustices in the world, it's really heartbreaking. I also acknowledge that I'm fortunate this hasn't happened to me (so far) or my loved ones.

The real point of me responding to @ArraDreaming was that it means A LOT to me when someone acknowledges the work we do. When someone says 'thanks for your kindness', 'thanks for your support today' or just 'thanks'. It makes my day and gives me such a good feeling.

It's clear that there is a lot of anger out there, @hanami , and that people like you get caught up in it, even if it's been mis-aimed. Images of the low-ranking vietnam veterans getting spat on, as a reaction to decisions made the upper tiers of the military and government, come to mind. The people who cop the outrage are very often not the ones who caused it.

I hope all the anger that you cop gets passed upstream to the people who can do something about it. I know that SANE often sits down with the government to discuss mental health policy, so you'd think it would be important for those SANE delegates to tell the government: "@hanami and our other peer workers have been getting a lot of complaints about the system working like this, so these are the problems you need to fix!" Because ultimately, that outrage is just an alarm going off to let the world know that something is very, very wrong. And when you know that the problem is neither your fault, nor anything that you can do anything about directly, it would seem only logical that it needs to be passed upstream to the people who do have the capacity to do something about it.

It's not fair that you should have to cop it, I agree. But the wrongs that have left the angry person in such despair are also not fair. There isn't a "bad guy" and a "good guy" among you; you've both been wronged by the way the system is set up.

Hey there @chibam ,

I just wanted to jump in and say that I can see where you are coming from.

I read that you feel that sharing this opinion is to see reform in the MH system?

At the same time, I'm not sure these forums are the place to voice this. What you have to say is very true, yet I'd encourage you to find a different platform more suited to this.

As I've mentioned in the past, I, as well as others here, have had wonderful experiences with the mental health system - including having peer workers in my recovery.

We want to use these forums to be able to share hope and encouragement to the community.

By all means, please don't think that I think the MH system is perfect. Of course it has room for improvement. However, these forums are not the place or space to share this.

@chibam @Historylover , bottom line, we are not denying you have had the unhelpful experiences you have had for which we are very sorry to hear. At the same time, these forums may not be the best place to voice action for change.

However, the support we CAN provide is the connection and emotional support one feels at any particular time.

I hope this clarifies things and allows you to make an informed decision as to whether you want to continue utilising these forums or whether a different platform is more suitable.

If you have any concerns, please feel free to email team@saneforums.org