Chronic Illness & Self-Advocacy

I do a lot of work with those with chronic health and disability, given there is an unfortunate overlap between these groups and those with complex/developmental trauma.

I have also worked in a Federally Qualified Health Clinic as a therapist and have had a fair amount of personal experience with the medical profession.

All that to say, I want to validate for those who need to hear it, how powerless it can feel to be a patient and how poorly staff can treat people who are appropriately advocating for themselves and their care.

I have seen it happen and I hear it a lot from my clients.

And there is a very real and valid concern about being labeled a problem patient, or someone who is resistant. The fear of what staff are going to put in their charts and how that is going to impact their care or even their ability to get care is a very real concern.

It’s important for us as clinicians to walk to empower our clients to be able to stand up for and advocate for themselves.

AND

We do harm if we blindly assume that medical professionals will receive our client’s self-advocacy well and we must acknowledge the very real impact of multiple layers of marginalization that a person inhabits absolutely affects how their advocacy is received.

All this to say, I hear you and I believe you that health care workers wield a huge amount of power, and do no always respond well. Your concerns are valid.