Tag Archives: impaired therapists

Oct 18

“Sex Education” Wrap-Up: Wounded Healers in Youth

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If you’ve finished watching (this means spoilers ahead!) all four seasons of the Netflix series Sex Education (see previous post), you’ve seen a number of flawed but well-meaning helpers reach fairly satisfying turning points in their lives. This includes not only student “sex therapists” Otis and O, who ultimately vie to become their college’s sole sex therapist, but also Otis’s mom Jean (Gillian Anderson), a practicing sex therapist in actuality, who’s eventually seen in flashbacks to her teens.

In my estimation, one of the major themes of Sex Education is that of the wounded healer, a concept known to non-shrinks as “therapists are as screwed up as the rest of us.” Although many other TV series and movies have depicted dysfunctional therapists (some examples here and here), typically it’s played for laughs and/or derision and not so much for understanding or acceptance. Not really the case in Sex Education.

Roger M. Cahak, Psychology Today, on the origins of “wounded healer” in the work of Carl Jung. “His theory is that therapists who have been wounded can provide their clients with a deeper level of empathy, patience, and acceptance. Since we’ve already traveled the journey, we’ve encountered the hazards and dead ends, navigated the detours and discovered the most breathtaking vistas.”

All the significant helpers in Sex Education struggle with their own issues. Although Otis, for instance, is highly anxious about having sex himself, he is able to offer sound advice to his more sexually active peers. O’s unresolved issues include a budding awareness of her own asexuality, yet she’s extremely well informed about the issues plaguing her more sexualized clientele. Jean, a mostly successful therapist who has experienced multiple episodes of depression, has a history of childhood and family trauma.

Over 25 years ago Robert Epstein and Tim Bower wrote (Psychology Today), “Here’s a theory that’s not so crazy: Maybe people enter the mental health field because they have a history of psychological difficulties. Perhaps they’re trying to understand or overcome their own problems…”.

Recent research confirms that many mental health professionals do have their own significant issues. In a study of psychologists “(o)ver 80% of all respondents reported having mental health difficulties at some point, and 48% reported having a diagnosed mental illness. These rates are similar to rates of mental illness in the general population,” reports The Conversation.

Similarly, a 2018 Social Work article notes that a large 2015 survey of licensed social workers found “that 40.2 percent of respondents reported mental health problems before becoming social workers, increasing to 51.8 percent during their social work career, with 28 percent currently experiencing such problems.”

Naturally, it’s important that practicing therapists seek and maintain whatever forms of help they need in order to function effectively. When this is not the case, impaired therapists need to be identified.

There are other kinds of wounded healers besides therapists, by the way. In her recent post “Are You a Wounded Healer?” Diana Raab, Psychology Today, states, “They can be mothers, fathers, or found in many other vocations. They often have a tendency to make their family and friends feel better, especially when their loved ones experience challenging times. Because they’ve dealt with their own challenges in the past, they more easily understand hardship. They also know, like therapists, that to help others heal, it’s important to instill hope so the person is able to see the light in their darkness.”

Are you a wounded healer? Raab provides this list of possible traits:

  • You are a lifelong seeker.
  • You have a strong sense of purpose.
  • People call on you when in need.
  • You’ve helped people since you were a child.
  • You look at all experiences as an opportunity for growth.
  • You’re able to find the calm in the chaos.
Jul 17

Impaired Therapists: How to Intervene

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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Gypsy are a couple of the latest TV series, both streaming on Netflix, to feature impaired therapists. Kimmy Schmidt‘s Tina Fey has a minor role as Andrea, an alcoholic therapist who somehow still manages to offer the lead character (Ellie Kemper) tidbits of useful advice. Her impairment, however, has ultimately led to losing her license, one possible outcome in the real world as well.

Gypsy‘s Naomi Watts portrays a therapist who’s been described as unethical and a sociopath.

In real life a relatively small percentage of clinicians in any of the mental health disciplines—which include such areas as social work, psychology, and psychiatry—are likely to be impaired therapists. However, in order to protect the clients who may potentially be affected, rules have to be in place.

Therefore, the various professional organizations whose members are providers of mental health services have pertinent codes of ethics. According to a leading ethical expert in my own field, Fredric Reamer, impairment can not only involve failure to comply with those ethical standards but also incompetence (Social Work Today).

The social work code of ethics specifically states the following regarding steps to take when a colleague is deemed impaired:

(a) Social workers who have direct knowledge of a social work colleague’s impairment that is due to personal problems, psychosocial distress, substance abuse, or mental health difficulties and that interferes with practice effectiveness should consult with that colleague when feasible and assist the colleague in taking remedial action.

(b) Social workers who believe that a social work colleague’s impairment interferes with practice effectiveness and that the colleague has not taken adequate steps to address the impairment should take action through appropriate channels established by employers, agencies, NASW, licensing and regulatory bodies, and other professional organizations.

All of the above takes into account the unfortunate fact that sometimes the nature of certain personal issues—such as addictions, burnout, health issues, and mental illness—can mean they will go undetected by the practitioners themselves.

Pertinent to this is a quote from the NASW Impaired Social Worker Program Resource Book that Reamer cites:

The problem of impairment is compounded by the fact that the professionals who suffer from the effect of mental illness, stress, or substance abuse are like anyone else; they are often the worst judges of their behavior, the last to recognize their problems and the least motivated to seek help. Not only are they able to hide or avoid confronting their behavior, they are often abetted by colleagues who find it difficult to accept that a professional could let his or her problem get out of hand (p. 6).

It’s not only colleagues who have recourse; clients do as well and need to trust their own instincts in this regard. If you notice something is wrong and talking it out with the therapist either doesn’t seem like an option or fails, you can report the impaired therapist to his/her employer and/or professional association and/or licensing board, and/or, if involved in payment for services you’re receiving, your health insurance company.