Clinical Psychology Trainees up and down the
land are encouraged to keep reflective diaries.
At a recent training day on Harmful Clinical
Psychology one intelligent, probably gifted, trainee said she had never had a conversation about
Capitalism. I used the word ‘eugenics’ at one point and half the room looked
blank. So that’s the labour market and the history of psychology gone from any
trainee perspective in one. Another trainee said she just wrote down her
thoughts ‘What paradigm do you use for those reflections?’, I asked,
“Political, economic, social, psychological…?” “I just write down my
thoughts”, she repeated. So I challenged her to record her thoughts concerning
three clinical sessions using a basic economic paradigm – what she gets paid relative to her client, whether the
client uses public transport by necessity, what strata of housing and
employment the client finds herself in – that kind of thing. I didn’t
complicate it by asking her to think about her role as a Bourgeoisie
exploiting the proletariat. I don’t even know if the trainee was able to use
an economic paradigm but at least it’s a way to structure her reflections.
In terms of harm very few clinical
psychologists seem to reflect on the harm they might be doing to the people
they see, on the harmful systems involving diagnosis, incarceration,
pharmacology they might be employed within. This kind of reflection includes
the possibility of starting from the position that the psychologist is mostly
in the business of helping themselves, not others; helping others then
becomes, reasonably enough, an accidental bi-product of looking after No. 1.
It’s not comfortable – but it keeps the debate alive.
Craig
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