Posted on by Answer Wall

I thought the Answer Wall is here to provide “answer.”

I thought the Answer Wall is here to provide "answer." I'm not looking for your emotional support, but a reason to make sense of the policy. Why do we have a horrible policy that insist on notifying parents regarding hospitalization despite knowing that can hurt the student, discourage support-seeking behavior, and retraumatize the person? Why do we have the section 12 law that takes power, trust, autonomy away from individuals, when the goal of therapy is to foster healing and empower the person? Hy do we have such horrible law, claiming to protect one's life, but actually hurting the person more? Or why do I keep fall into the cycle?
I thought the Answer Wall is here to provide “answer.” I’m not looking for your emotional support, but a reason to make sense of the policy. Why do we have a horrible policy that insist on notifying parents regarding hospitalization despite knowing that can hurt the student, discourage support-seeking behavior, and retraumatize the person? Why do we have the section 12 law that takes power, trust, autonomy away from individuals, when the goal of therapy is to foster healing and empower the person? Hy do we have such horrible law, claiming to protect one’s life, but actually hurting the person more? Or why do I keep fall into the cycle?

I’m sorry the flawed health care system is troublesome, and I’m sorry my answer was unsatisfactory. You might be interested in the book Insane consequences: How the mental health industry fails the mentally ill, by D.J. Jaffe (Social Work Library RC455 .J28 2017). If I understand it correctly, a recent law (part of the 21st Century Cures act, signed in December 2016 – for a summary of relevant law, look here: (bit.ly/HR2646)) relaxed restrictions on HIPAA/FERPA to allow providers to share some information with caregivers (i.e. family), to avoid healthcare problems worsened by confidentiality. I’m always sorry to hear about solutions that also cause problems. The world is complicated that way. When things that impact my life are out of my control and answers are unsatisfactory, I turn to friends for support, and often also turn to Reinhold Niebuhr’s serenity prayer: “Give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other.”