Nothing About Us Without Us
Nihil de nobis, sine nobis.
No Plans or Industry-Wide Instructional Materials Without Us
We are inviting members of the community up for the task — therapists, laypeople with some psychology know-how, policy makers (yes, there are plural policy makers), and tech-heads, etc. to help come up with a list of proposed revisions or guidelines FOR revisions for the ISSTD guidelines. If there are other such materials or guidelines, we want in on those too.
Example suggestions:
- "search-replace every instance of 'patient' with 'client' throughout the guidelines."
- "If healthy/functional multiplicity is a valid treatment path, then stop quoting Kluft (1993) saying that liking each other is a 'narcissistic investment' in our 'alters'."
We need to break the guidelines into sections and have various people start in different sections of the document to at least highlight &/or comment suggestions for changes, perhaps point out newer research and practices that change the recommendations, etc.
Acceptance and REQUIREMENT for Professionals with Lived Experience
We hear about professionals across the world who must hide their plurality for fear of retribution from the industry. Change comes from the top. The industry leaders must accept that they're role-models for therapists and the psychiatric community across the globe.
So we are going to make a hard push, and a push to get community buy-in on this idea as well, to require organizations that "specialize" in our treatment to accept professionals with lived experience and embrace them wholly and openly. This goes for all professional organizations, research groups, universities working with students who will be the future of the industry, supervisors, instructors, etc.
They cannot say they serve us and support us out of one side of their mouth while oppressing, hurting, firing and blacklisting those of us who have made it — through or in spite of our mental health status or being plural in any way — to getting degrees and licenses to work in the field. It is the most blatant discrimination next to the selves-discrimination amongst plurals who do not want to work with a professional with lived experience.
A Seat at Every Table
WE NEED A SEAT AT THE TABLE. If the industry won't allow laypeople at the table, then it should be professionals with lived experience. Period. To the point that we want an amendment to the bylaws of EVERY official group that governs our treatment and industry research, similar to Independent Living centers and peer-run organizations, that they will, year-over-year, be required to increase the number of professionals with lived experience on the board of directors until it is at least 51%, and maintain a minimum of 51% board involvement by those they represent in all decisions and policies going forward from there.
That said, it should be lived experience of those most marginalized in the community. A broad representation across minorities with PTSD, C-PTSD, DID, &OSDD with a variety of backgrounds — trafficked, refugees, RA, etc. Not just a group of all 9/11 PTSD survivors, for example. It must represent the population(s) served.
Any other requests?