Link – Therapists fight mental health stigma by sharing experiences

Since it’s been a number of years since I was seeing a therapist, and I was much less educated about any of this back then, it hasn’t occurred to me to be concerned about whether my therapist had, in fact, also been i therapy. So, my question is, would it bother you to know your therapist had also needed therapy? I would almost think it would be part of self-care after dealing with other people’s issues all day, every day. But apparently, not everyone agrees:

“Unfortunately, practitioners talking openly about their mental health can also come with potential professional repercussions. A 2017 study found that 40 percent of physicians said they’d be reluctant to seek treatment for their mental health issues because they’re afraid it would affect their ability to retain a medical license. This isn’t an idle fear—some state’s medical boards require physicians to disclose mental illness diagnoses on their license applications or renewal forms. And ironically, there can be stigma about mental illness amongst the very professionals who treat it: In an article for The Lancet, Kay Redfield Jemison, Ph.D., a psychologist who has long been outspoken about her bipolar disorder, recalls colleagues saying that she should have kept her diagnosis private, while others acted “embarrassed” around her. Professionals with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses also report skepticism from colleagues that they’re capable of effectively doing their jobs.”

I don’t get it. The very people who teach us how to care for ourselves and overcome our issues, should have the same freedom. I would think, as many in the article below point out, that it could help in some cases to be able to talk openly.

How would you feel if your therapist was also seeing a therapist?

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/mental-health-stigma-therapists/