Liberation Work Is Mental Health Care
Hello, Fellow Humans! Today we follow up on last month’s column about Liberation Psychology, specifically looking at ways to incorporate some important teachings in our own lives. As a reminder, Liberation Psychology is an approach to understanding mental health and suffering as it relates to systems of oppression. Liberation Psychology embraces a two-pronged approach to emotional well-being: 1) acknowledge that living under oppression is a major contributor to suffering, and that fighting oppressive systems is a necessary antidote, and 2) support peoples’ ability to live with a sense of agency, purpose, and joy, both individually and in community. I’d like to share three suggestions for living out these principles that have helped me in my own personal and professional work. All of these concepts stem from my belief that liberation work involves fighting against oppressive systems in our environment as well as locating and fighting the internalized oppressive systems in our own minds. I particularly love that these ideas support mental health in all domains of life and are available to all of us, whether or not we engage in other therapeutic efforts. Personally, I think about these concepts daily, and find that they function as a compass to help me make more informed decisions about my well-being and my role in the community. Let’s take a look.
Liberation IS Mental Health Care
This is the meat of it all. Anything that moves us, individually and collectively, away from oppression and toward liberation, supports mental health. Period. I am so in love with this idea for several reasons. First, it applies to everyone. All people, including those who hold power under oppressive systems, are psychologically and negatively impacted by the systems themselves. Second, it offers clear guidance: choose the more liberatory practice whenever possible. Third, by thinking in this way, it asks that we consider ourselves and others in relationship, supporting empathy. Finally, it can be practiced in the regular activities of daily living. Are you parenting in a non-shaming way by demonstrating to your child that it is okay to make mistakes? Are you expanding students’ minds by teaching ethically and truthfully? Are you liberating yourself from unhealthy learned patterns by engaging in therapy? All of these are examples of mental health care as they enthusiastically teach alternatives to shame, dogmatism, and social constructs. In short, they are liberatory practices. The problem: oppressive systems feel so normal we assume they are just the way things are. The antidote: making small choices every day that call out oppression and support liberation.
2. Individualism Kills
Okay, this might sound a little dramatic, but it is a hard truth. North American culture has a disastrous fetishization of individualism which shows up in two significant messages: 1) you can and should “do it all” and do it perfectly; and 2) if you experience a problem or concern, you should solve it on your own. Humans are just not designed this way, folks. This has nothing to do with introversion vs. extroversion, and is actually about shared resources (which can be material or relational). So many people that I speak to in the therapy room experience burnout because they are trying to take on more than is reasonable — and then feel ashamed that they struggle with this Herculean task — because social messaging celebrates over-extension, busyness, and looking good while doing it. Honestly, I believe our collective mental health would improve far more by mass organizing for better working conditions, quality child-care, universal basic income, and free health care, than we would if every single person goes in for individual therapy. So many symptoms of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and rage actually point toward a lack of community care rather than personal pathology. Individual therapy might provide validation and support in these scenarios, but it is misguided and cruel to suggest that the individual is responsible for “solving” those social problems, at their own time and expense to boot. We also have robust medical evidence of the physical toll of hyper-individualism and associated burnout: high blood pressure, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, digestive issues, and a host of other medical problems are all associated with high stress and low social supports. And this is before living through a global pandemic that only magnifies isolation practices. The problem: do-it-yourself-culture causes emotional and physical suffering. The antidote: find your people and practice asking for and offering support and collaboration.
3. Good Medicine vs. Bad Medicine
When I consider what moves me further away from oppression and closer to liberation, it becomes much easier to differentiate between good and bad medicine, or what helps or harms me in reaching these goals. I have provided therapy for over a decade, and attended therapy on and off for longer, and can attest that therapy is not always good medicine. If you are seeking or utilizing therapy, it is fair to ask whether your therapist can and will talk with you about oppression as it shows up in your life, and it is certainly fair to assess whether your therapist engages in oppressive practices in therapy (it happens, and often). Bad medicine is particularly insidious when it comes packaged as “healing” — and unfortunately most of us know just how shaming, demeaning, or harmful it can be to seek care and feel worse coming out of a doctor’s appointment or therapy session than we did going in. If you are not interested in, or do not find benefit from therapy, what can you identify that is “good medicine” in your own mental health/liberation journey? Teachers, writers, friends, political organizations, support groups, and comrades in pursuing fun and pleasure can all be vehicles of good medicine, provided they enact liberation values. The problem: systems of oppression control most of our social resources, including “healing arts.” The antidote: trust your instincts and experience and find people and experiences that support your joy, healing, and self-determination.
In the spirit of embodying these practices, here’s what I’ll be up to this month (and I invite you to find your own ways to engage in liberation practices): exploring shared resources by making and distributing food to friends, taking good medicine by making art with absolutely no purpose except the art itself, and noticing when I am engaging in internalized oppression (hello perfectionism!), and giving myself some grace. As always, send me your questions and conundrums for the next ask-and-answer column! Until then, friends.
