We feel it is relevant to start with a point that is sometimes lost in this debate: This is an argument that will be finite in duration. The culture is already moving forward towards a recovery model, and once it has fully landed, so many individuals who have been or are consumers within the mental health system will also be employed within the same that disclosure will likely happen at the door, rather than being a tentative process that may happen at some point during employment. We believe in this process and we hope to be a part of what moves it along.
Generally Speaking
The Staff Survivor�s Network supports the idea of disclosure between staff and consumers of the mental health system. We believe that employing individuals who actively and openly identify as consumer/survivors of the mental health system within the system is critical to effective treatment and is a principle that is central to the future of client-centered treatment. Ultimately, we support the goal of having a significant percentage of all mental health staff be individuals who are also consumers/survivors of the system.
Why Disclosure is a Positive Thing
Disclosure serves several purposes within the system including:
� Reducing shame and stigma
� Increasing teaching opportunities
� Reducing asylum mentality
� Reducing the power dynamic
� Evening the �playing field�
� Providing positive peer role models
� Offering hope for recovery and building a meaningful life
� Blurring the �us� and �them� lines
� Increasing the demand for respect of all individuals
Possible Downsides
Obviously, some degree of risk is involved in all things we do and with all treatment modalities. When disclosure is utilized within the treatment system, it is possible that personal boundaries may become less clear. It is also possible that, if the staff is not clear about their boundaries and the purpose behind their disclosure, that a consumer with whom they work may feel burdened by the information they have been given or that the treatment focus has been shifted to the staff.
However, we feel that the risk posed by skillful disclosure is minimal as compared to the demonstrated risks of maintaining a system that emphasizes power dynamics and �us� and �them� mentalities.
How to Disclose Information
We don�t believe that there is any black and white framework within which disclosure must occur. We also believe that, as the systems shift towards a more client-centered framework with more consumers
� Share information and your reasons for wanting to share it with a respected peer or supervisor before disclosing for the first time whom you feel will be able to be objective.
� Be mindful of the reasons you are disclosing information, and how you think it will be helpful.
� Never share in a way that leaves a consumer feeling as if he or she is holding a big secret for you. Sharing should be done in a way that supports openness and honesty.
Other Worthwhile Questions & Answers
If staff disclose their own experience with mental illness, will consumers see them as too fragile or unable to help?
We do not believe that the individuals with whom we work should be treated as fragile, and we believe that hiding our more human and imperfect parts is to treat them as such. In our experience, when those we serve have found out that we have also struggled in our life they see us as stronger, not weaker. They see us as being more able to help, not less. They see us as having more to offer them in the way of knowledge, personal experience and empathy. They see us as judging or looking down upon them less. They are more likely to see us as peers, coaches and mentors rather than authority figures, rule makers and dictators.
Should staff wait until they are fully in recovery before disclosing any of their experience with mental illness?
While we do believe that full recovery is possible, we also believe that it is not realistic to expect staff to have necessarily reached that point. Though there are many viable comparisons between the drug treatment and mental health treatment worlds, we do not believe it is viable to say that if a drug counselor in an abstinence-model program may not be able to counsel effectively if he relapses and starts drinking again, than a mental health counselor who becomes depressed or self harms is necessarily not able to counsel effectively. It�s simply not that black and white, and we all have different experiences to share and different lessons to teach. Someone in full recovery may be able to provide a great example of how full recovery is possible. However, someone who is still struggling but has nonetheless created and maintained a full life can be a great teacher of the fact that full recovery is not necessary to begin living a full life.
Should mental health agencies seeking to add employees who are identified as consumers/survivors create special roles for them?
We think that it is a great step to create roles like peer advocates and peer specialists and we are avid supporters of this movement. However, as the system stands, this still allows for too much �us� and �them� separation and not enough representation of the treated amongst the treaters. Those in �special� roles are still sometimes being treated as the one in the room whom the rest of the treaters need to humor, rather than as an equal part of the team. Ultimately, we feel that the true goal should be to have a mental health system populated by many individuals who are open about identifying in this way, and not simply as direct care staff but as managers as well.
