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Empathy...what a concept

Catch 22 revisited

by Jathinder Sandhu

W hat would you do if you found your self in a position where by you'd been forced against your will into Riverview hospital, forced to take drugs and electro-shock, forced to eat meat and potatoes and restrained by six orderlies all because you called the police after you'd been beaten up by your boyfriend? Maybe, under the same set of circumstances, give or take a few, you tried to obtain the services of a transition house. But what if you did and they asked you a bunch of questions and during the course of the conversation it is revealed that you are on medication and have been labeled a schizophrenic? Highly possible they'd ask you who your doctor is, what medication you're on and then dismiss you with, "This is not the right place for you".

Well, access to transition houses and the promotion of alternatives for psychiatrized women is the basic theme in the manual Towards Empathy by Gisela Sartori. She makes it clear that "psychiatrically disabled" women are the most likely to seek the services of a transition house and the most likely to be turned away on the basis of their disability. This has happened to me personally and I'm sure there are numerous other examples from women consumers across Canada. It seems that when a psychiatrized woman does gain access to a transition house she is frequently misunderstood and discriminated against based upon her being labeled "Crazy".

When I was experiencing enormous emotional distress and asked for the help of a local Vancouver Transition house, I was viewed differently because of the fact I was branded with a psychiatric label. The questions assumed I needed the medication for my supposed illness. I was strung out on various heavy duty neuroleptics and felt weird, out of place and ashamed in the presence of the transition house workers who knew something was wrong but who treated me as though I was a fly on the wall.

Basically, I experienced what Sartori calls "mentalism". She writes:

"We need to be able to begin to overcome our fears and preconceived notions about relating to and working with women who have been labeled "mentally ill".

Mentalism, she points out, is a set of ideas and beliefs that suggest that a psychiatrized person is somehow fundamentally different and less capable than other people. Furthermore, she elaborates that the first step to overcome the mentalist stereotype is by simply seeing psychiatrized women in the same way as other women (i.e. mother, daughters, partners, etc.)

Because the manual is written by and from the perspective of psychiatric survivors, I could see myself and relate to the stories in Towards Empathy. There are detailed accounts of consumer survivor stories as well as many scenarios which deal with consumer/survivor experiences for which Sartori suggests innovative approaches.

The issue of cultural relevance is really vital when working with psychiatrized women, as many consumers are women of color or First Nations women who are misunderstood and victimized doubly in the system. Certainly being a woman of color of South Asian descent, I was constantly having to defend my personal integrity while in hospital. Indeed, I knew how to speak English quite well (I have a Bachelors degree in Communications) and I wondered how does a non-English speaking person defend him or herself in a system that labels and pathologizes. I didn't see any interpreters for people in the hospital when I was there. In fact, I interpreted for inpatient's. One experience I had in the hospital was just downright horrendous. I was drugged up, not given any information in regards to why I was there and I was told by the head nurse "I don't think the RCMP should be allowed to wear turbans". I looked at her and I knew she was power tripping, comfortable in her authority and using it to demean me. I mean here I am, completely powerless because my rights have been taken away and she's telling me "I know you're aware of who you are and I'm going to disrespect you anyway by challenging you through my raciest eyes". I looked at her and said, "I'm not here to have a political discussion with you". And I walked away. Yes, it was DISGUSTING. It is obvious to me that any "treatment" of this sort is dehumanizing and evil. In fact, it promotes illness.

In psychiatry, the conservative treatment models such as forced restraint, electro shock and drug therapy are almost always the preferred way instead of encouragement, love, kindness, empathy and compassion. Psychiatrized women need the support of a safe place that is em pathetic to their needs, even more so because of the dehumanizing treatment received in mental hospitals.

This, in itself, is a good reason for residential crisis treatment centers where women can heal and that promote a compassionate approach to emotional distress. This is especially true because many survivors are victims of emotional, sexual, mental and physical abuse. And this is completely disregarded by an industry that promotes mental illness as a biochemical malfunction in the brain. Sartori states that over 85% of psychiatrized women have experienced sexual abuse in their lives. Why, knowing this, are psychologists not covered by BC medical? Indeed, I feel it has to do with social control and you know whose side psychiatry is on - the side of "the Family", not the individual who was raped by her father from the age of three.

The recommendations made in Towards Empathy for alternative treatments are an excellent basic starting point for building safe houses where people in emotional distress or crisis can get real help. The perspective of the manual is to promote innovative alternatives to the conservative biochemical model that only pushes pills down consumers throats. An atmosphere of kindness, compassion, love and empathy is required. A safe house could provide such things as healthy diets, access to nature, promote exercises to restore strength, herbal remedies, meditation, creative visualization, cultural relevance, peer support, music and art therapy. Sharon Shorty, a First Nations woman who speaks her story in Towards Empathy, emphasizes traditional healing practices from her rich cultural background as a way back from emotional distress.

In recommending any of the above approaches, it is important to be able to offer a woman support in finding what she needs. The idea is to support her in becoming more whole and powerful. Rather than emphasizing one approach or another, the essential element is to allow options and a space in which to make her choices.

I will end by saying that the empathic approach discussed in Sartori's manual tries to treat people in emotional distress as ordinary women struggling with life problems. It means identifying with the person, opening up to her and validating her reality and struggle. And this is vital in the process of healing. Lets do it!

Jathinder Sandhu is a member of the VRMHNS Shakti peer support group.

Editor's note: Further information about Towards Empathy  is available through the Network.