“But because she still shows up in the neighborhood, I am reminded how diligent I have to be in maintaining love, light, and connection to the divine. I don’t want to be tempted to follow her ever again.”
So this. Thank you for putting such beautiful words to it 💗
I didn’t read the post through, but what I read was terrific and useful. The way American medicine and psychiatry deal with suicidal risk is arbitrary and has more to do with our legal system and psychiatry’s role in medicine than any evidence-based intervention. I have appreciated a slight improvement from the beginning of my career 25 years ago, to now. But only slight. Private out-patient psychiatry allows me to almost entirely isolate myself from larger psychiatry’s approach to suicide and I am a more helpful clinician for it.
This is another example of the argument that lived experience should outweigh professional expertise and objective assessment.
The reality is that the numerous inpatient admissions and ongoing oversight from mental health services likely played a significant role in keeping her alive long enough to reach this point. It is worth acknowledging the contribution of the very systems and professionals that intervened during periods of acute risk.
I have no objection to discussing suicidality openly, nor to critically examining mental health services. However, there is a certain irony in condemning a system that, despite its imperfections, may well have been instrumental in preserving one's life.
“But because she still shows up in the neighborhood, I am reminded how diligent I have to be in maintaining love, light, and connection to the divine. I don’t want to be tempted to follow her ever again.”
So this. Thank you for putting such beautiful words to it 💗
I didn’t read the post through, but what I read was terrific and useful. The way American medicine and psychiatry deal with suicidal risk is arbitrary and has more to do with our legal system and psychiatry’s role in medicine than any evidence-based intervention. I have appreciated a slight improvement from the beginning of my career 25 years ago, to now. But only slight. Private out-patient psychiatry allows me to almost entirely isolate myself from larger psychiatry’s approach to suicide and I am a more helpful clinician for it.
Thank you so much for this.
This is another example of the argument that lived experience should outweigh professional expertise and objective assessment.
The reality is that the numerous inpatient admissions and ongoing oversight from mental health services likely played a significant role in keeping her alive long enough to reach this point. It is worth acknowledging the contribution of the very systems and professionals that intervened during periods of acute risk.
I have no objection to discussing suicidality openly, nor to critically examining mental health services. However, there is a certain irony in condemning a system that, despite its imperfections, may well have been instrumental in preserving one's life.
.
I don’t read Sorbie as making the argument that “lived experience should outweigh professional expertise and objective assessment.”
Thank you