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Let’s Change The Term “Mental Health”

Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: Nov 11, 2023 | Replies (26)

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@esikora

The label "Behavioral Health" seems to be trending, which apparently groups substance abuse with emotional/psychiatric issues.
Not a fan of this trend...

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Replies to "The label "Behavioral Health" seems to be trending, which apparently groups substance abuse with emotional/psychiatric issues...."

I dislike "behavioral health" because I think it, too, puts the onus on the person whose behaviors are problematic -- yet those behaviors didn't arise in a vacuum!

I briefly saw a psychiatrist for both meds and talk therapy who believed that we don't exactly have free will, because so much of who we are is determined by family-of-origin stuff that occurs during our 1st three years; it was a relief to hear someone experienced (decades as a practitioner) and well-educated say this.
....... And: About 20 years ago, I worked as a secretary in a methadone clinic for three years; one of my duties was to type up the intake notes for new patients. It amazed me that virtually all of them stated that their home life had been normal or OK -- despite the fact that each of them came from a psychologically dysfunctional family, and that in almost every one of those families, substance use and physical violence had been present.

To be clear, I don't think that our early experiences are a prison we can't escape; I *do* think that we (society) are only starting to combine our 150-yr-old understanding of those forces + acknowledging but not blaming the wounded parents who caused damage + a gradual understanding of therapies that can help with trauma (such as EMDR) + implementing strategies to help those with trauma not only find relief from pain but also have a more-enriching life.

Apologies if I've erred by focusing on my particular bugbears.

I’ve seen the term ‘behavioural health’ used to apply stigma, unfortunately, with significant negative consequences to people labelled.
There must be a conscious facilitation of power and autonomy given back to the people who need support services/health care by the practitioners/deliverers or care services, otherwise it is a slippery slope that can and sometimes does lead to language and terminology categorising people negatively and silencing their voice in the therapeutic process by said labels attaching stigma that then becomes very hard to escape.
Hopefully that makes sense..I’m participating in this discussion at 1:30am with some level of fatigue, while “enjoying” wakefulness from drenching night sweats, and doing a bit of typing to take my mind off of it 🙂