I"m just reading in amazement at the awesome pandora's box I seem to have opened. I"m amazed that you have stuck in it for the long haul. Im amazed that Dr. Reid hasn't deleted some of these ignominious responses (yet), though I did see where he has deleted some posts that I'm probably just as well off not reading. I was all set to write back some heated responses to those two boneheads, excuse me, misguided individuals, but the more I read the more I realized that they didn't even have their facts straight, and don't know all the facts, and don't want to know the facts. I've learned that some people can't respond to reasoning and I keep my stress level down by remembering that. It seems the issue that got picked up on here is whether one can be a therapist and a human and a member of a society, neighborhood, community, what have you, at the same time. These individuals seem to view mental health professionals the way I used to view the nuns at our school when I was in second grade; that they always wore their habits, never said a cuss word and they weren't really human. According to them, I'm never allowed to get irritable, make unhealthy choices, or be less than compassionate. As far as "being held to a higher standard," that is true to some extent, but the way I see it, in that capacity, I was perhaps modeling "assertive behavior" for my neighbor. You are also dead on in that I don't give up my rights to personal safety by virtue of being a therapist. Actually my supervisor, as does our agency as a matter of policy, takes safety seriously, whether the threat is implied or attempted. Her other (also legitimate) concern, and mine too, is that I have a place to do my work where I feel emotionally safe. We as an agency have a responsibility to more than just this one potential client (i'm not even sure he won't go somewhere else first). I have some 40 or so clients on my case load. The greater good, if you want to talk utilitarian, is that these 40-some clients have a therapist that is able to be fully present, not that one self-serving bonehead is able to get services here at the expense of those 40-some clients getting a therapist who's at least distracted and at worst feeling threatened. But the bottom line for me in this situation is that, as a neighbor, I have a right to expect my neighbors to behave in a civil manner, I have a right to live in peace, and I have a right to enforce that. My going out after him was a reflex to what looked like me to be a serious assault. My first instinct was to protect my female neighbor who I thought was a friend. (I would have tried to protect her even if she wasn't a friend). My second response was that I wanted to take a swing at this guy that I absolutely hate, as he has created nothing but disruption since his arrival. I'm glad you recognize that, even as a therapist, I'm entitled to my all-too-human feelings. But thanks for sticking up for me. It's nice to know that someone in this thread is capable of critical thinking.
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