506 SelfWork: Therapy Harm: Straight Talk with Dr. Patricia Dixon

Therapy harm is the topic this week, as Dr. Margaret welcomes her guest Dr. Patricia Dixon to SelfWork.

 

What is therapy harm?

We talk more openly than ever about the benefits of therapy, but less about the ways therapy can unintentionally cause harm. And harm does happen far too often with therapists who do things or say things that hurt their clients. Maybe it’s over-sharing, being dismissive of something their client is trying to describe, invalidating their experience. Or perhaps even worse, letting a client know of an attraction to them that they feel.

All of these things are highly unethical – and definitely cause therapy harm. Every profession has people in it that don’t meet even a minimum standard of care. But the vulnerability that therapy clients walk into therapy with needs to be understood and highly respected. They are asking for help.

Dr. Patricia Dixon, an expert in therapy harm and what’s termed “colorism”

Today psychologist and mental health advocate Dr. Patricia Dixon is shedding light on the often misunderstood concept of “therapy harm.” She explains what it is, how it can happen even with the best intentions, and why clients who experience it often struggle to speak up. We’re also going to focus on what’s called “colorism” – when fairer skin becomes an avenue toward privilege – and how she addresses that in her teaching and practice. Colorism happens in multiple cultures and is so important to legitimize as happening regularly.

Dr. Patricia S. Dixon is a licensed clinical psychologist, speaker, author, life coach, and professor based in Tampa Bay, Florida. With a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Adler School of Professional Psychology, Dr. Dixon specializes in diversity and multicultural issues, relationship counseling, self-improvement, and mental wellness. A breast cancer survivor, she draws on her personal experiences to empower others, particularly in the areas of couples therapy and self-relationship development.

The importance of trust to prevent therapy harm…

I’ve written and recorded several SelfWork episodes around therapy and therapy harm. .

One I remember distinctly was when I asked for SelfWork topics from my FB group, these were some of their top questions about a relationship with a therapist.

1) How to be real with your therapist about what’s not working…

2) Why do I want to feel that my therapist likes me?

3) How do I handle the fear that I’m “too much” for my therapist?

4) How to leave therapy…

When I stop and think about what’s underneath some of the insecurity or confusion inherent in these questions, they all have to do with trust, knowing for example that you can talk about what you find helpful about therapy and perhaps what you don’t. That conversation would be based on a sense of safety and comfort in the relationship.

The second has to do with the vulnerability of therapy – of not being sure if your therapist is interested in who you are as a person – and a person they “like.” Affirmation of who you are as a whole can be vital.

Again, the third question suggests that the client fears that they’re overwhelming the therapist. That’s the therapist’s job to communicate that you are safe in the relationship with them, no matter what you want to share that you might fear could be “too much.”

And the fourth, how to leave therapy – that’s a conversation that can occur anytime really. Often, I have clients let me know at the beginning of therapy what their goals are – and how we both will know that they’ve reached those goals. And that discussion can be had multiple times.

To listen to this episode, you can click here!

If you’ve been harmed by a therapist…

Please consider reporting the harm done by a therapist to their state licensing board. It can be difficult, and several people have come to me so I could give them support during this process.

At the least, when you can risk trust again, consider another therapy avenue to healing.

By the way… 

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