This post was pivotal for me as I was on the cusp of jumping back into an online program to finish the master's in clinical mental health couseling I started in 2020. Only days before I read this I'd heard two mental health practitioners in a panel discussion, one of whom had not renewed her licensure several years ago and one who was seriously considering opting out, for some of the same reasons you've explained so thoroughly here. Much pondering and many conversations have ensued. Thank you for bringing up these issues!
I’ve just discovered you on TikTok a few weeks back, now I’m going through your Substack. Thank you for all the work you do. You’re truly blowing my mind.
Thank you! Extremely thought provoking. The standard therapist model is no doubt policing, my last 2 have seemed like actual police. As a person who has been to prison for selling drugs, really just to try and find a way to have more time to myself, been beat with nightstick by a cop, had my phone hacked by the police when I had committed no crime. I fucking hate the police.
And as a ptsd riddled
Trauma survivor
With bipolar 1 & ADHD... I'm ready to quit therapy after reading this. Sick of the police and their tentacles(therapists social workers and the like)
You can't even get food stamps or GA without a drug test as a drug felon.
I hate capitalism especially this American version
I’m so happy someone covered this! I just left a crisis center job that had a 16 to 20 week waitlist and pushed me out because I didn’t agree with their policies on remote work. They let me move out of state and proceeded to police it remotely-- be here every other month, don’t show discomfort even after being stranded en route and.... were you 5 mins late to these meetings? Oh no! You can’t tell us our policies are ableist! Lol they forced me to quit without notice and did so by making it seem I did so many wrong things by stacking arbitrary bs while also stating l do the job they hired me for well. I have a masters in psychology and could barely even break $50k! You ate with this!!
Resonant. I've been talking about how licensure creates the hoarding of social and emotional capital. So now there's all these descendants...lineages fulfulling healing calls...they end up capitalizing off of the social/emotional ignorance of those around them. This has always made me so angry. Grief is a collective effort and we have the ability to heal one another. Loved this essay.
I didn’t know what to think at first when I read the title, but as I read I started to connect to the memories I have in therapeutic settings. The first therapist I met with told me to find religion, and dismissed my gender dysphoria (which I didn’t have the proper vocabulary for). The third told me I “wasn’t really suicidal”. A nurse at an inpatient children’s ward told me for speaking out against another girls journal being read out loud that they had every right to read our journals and sedate us if we complained. Even now, with a therapist I love and adore, I feel sour when I see the invoice come in. Such insightful work!! A thoughtful read. Thank you for your perspectives!
Finally was able to sit down with one of your essays I’ve been meaning to read for months…this essay is incredible. I feel like your work here really ties into why religious/spiritual healers in the “witchy” community have always been cracked down on (especially the Romani people in all of history) when it comes to reflection tools such as tarot readings. State police are cracking down on it in some areas of PA again!
Thank you for this work Ismatu! I’ve always been weary as a sw when it comes to openness towards medical professionals and interview my therapists on their beliefs and morals before committing to them as a provider. I’ve had some that have wanted to “save” me and light up when I have a bad day at work. The access to mental health care in the sw community is few and far between esp considering the access to insurance disparities. This put my feelings of them being a form of policing in words 🙏
This was so informative. Hearing your experience has really given my feelings towards clinical mental health care a proper shape, one I couldn’t form from my own experience. But in the context of policy being built to serve the state it all falls into place. I had a therapist once who told me that I wasn’t wrong in feeling insecure and afraid that I was deeply depressed and struggling to fit into a system where inconsistency and humanness is vilified. I will never forget that woman because she was basically like yeah fuck capitalism. I am looking forward to reading the book you recommended and having these conversations with people I know who seek help and work in this area. I hope to learn more about radical therapy and see if there’s a better future for these types of care. Thank you for sharing. 🫶
wonderful work ismatu 🥹 i’m always moved by how strong your voice is even through text.
Giving me lots to think about as I approach my MSW graduation in a few months... this post is so important!!
Hey! I’m curious about the book No More Police, I would I go about getting it?
There’s a link to order it from AK Press in the essay!
Oh boy, can’t believe I missed it! I appreciate it!
Incredible read. Thank you for sharing.
This post was pivotal for me as I was on the cusp of jumping back into an online program to finish the master's in clinical mental health couseling I started in 2020. Only days before I read this I'd heard two mental health practitioners in a panel discussion, one of whom had not renewed her licensure several years ago and one who was seriously considering opting out, for some of the same reasons you've explained so thoroughly here. Much pondering and many conversations have ensued. Thank you for bringing up these issues!
as a abolitionist therapist, I LOVED THIS!!
Thank you for this, ismatu!! I really read this in my head in your voice :)
you put so much into words that i have always felt about social work, therapy, and 'human services'... thank you, so much.
I’ve just discovered you on TikTok a few weeks back, now I’m going through your Substack. Thank you for all the work you do. You’re truly blowing my mind.
Thank you! Extremely thought provoking. The standard therapist model is no doubt policing, my last 2 have seemed like actual police. As a person who has been to prison for selling drugs, really just to try and find a way to have more time to myself, been beat with nightstick by a cop, had my phone hacked by the police when I had committed no crime. I fucking hate the police.
And as a ptsd riddled
Trauma survivor
With bipolar 1 & ADHD... I'm ready to quit therapy after reading this. Sick of the police and their tentacles(therapists social workers and the like)
You can't even get food stamps or GA without a drug test as a drug felon.
I hate capitalism especially this American version
I’m so happy someone covered this! I just left a crisis center job that had a 16 to 20 week waitlist and pushed me out because I didn’t agree with their policies on remote work. They let me move out of state and proceeded to police it remotely-- be here every other month, don’t show discomfort even after being stranded en route and.... were you 5 mins late to these meetings? Oh no! You can’t tell us our policies are ableist! Lol they forced me to quit without notice and did so by making it seem I did so many wrong things by stacking arbitrary bs while also stating l do the job they hired me for well. I have a masters in psychology and could barely even break $50k! You ate with this!!
Resonant. I've been talking about how licensure creates the hoarding of social and emotional capital. So now there's all these descendants...lineages fulfulling healing calls...they end up capitalizing off of the social/emotional ignorance of those around them. This has always made me so angry. Grief is a collective effort and we have the ability to heal one another. Loved this essay.
I didn’t know what to think at first when I read the title, but as I read I started to connect to the memories I have in therapeutic settings. The first therapist I met with told me to find religion, and dismissed my gender dysphoria (which I didn’t have the proper vocabulary for). The third told me I “wasn’t really suicidal”. A nurse at an inpatient children’s ward told me for speaking out against another girls journal being read out loud that they had every right to read our journals and sedate us if we complained. Even now, with a therapist I love and adore, I feel sour when I see the invoice come in. Such insightful work!! A thoughtful read. Thank you for your perspectives!
Finally was able to sit down with one of your essays I’ve been meaning to read for months…this essay is incredible. I feel like your work here really ties into why religious/spiritual healers in the “witchy” community have always been cracked down on (especially the Romani people in all of history) when it comes to reflection tools such as tarot readings. State police are cracking down on it in some areas of PA again!
Thank you for this work Ismatu! I’ve always been weary as a sw when it comes to openness towards medical professionals and interview my therapists on their beliefs and morals before committing to them as a provider. I’ve had some that have wanted to “save” me and light up when I have a bad day at work. The access to mental health care in the sw community is few and far between esp considering the access to insurance disparities. This put my feelings of them being a form of policing in words 🙏
Thank you for this essay!
This was so informative. Hearing your experience has really given my feelings towards clinical mental health care a proper shape, one I couldn’t form from my own experience. But in the context of policy being built to serve the state it all falls into place. I had a therapist once who told me that I wasn’t wrong in feeling insecure and afraid that I was deeply depressed and struggling to fit into a system where inconsistency and humanness is vilified. I will never forget that woman because she was basically like yeah fuck capitalism. I am looking forward to reading the book you recommended and having these conversations with people I know who seek help and work in this area. I hope to learn more about radical therapy and see if there’s a better future for these types of care. Thank you for sharing. 🫶