A word about the Denver shooting

[kittylady]

To everyone who says this tragedy could have been prevented by stricter gun control laws, and especially to those who say it could have been prevented by everyone in the theater having a gun on them, I say that you are not only wrong, but also full of shit

Comments

[drd2be]

Sadly, many individuals have access to free or at least low-cost mental health care and refuse to use it. People who are delusional often don't seek therapy (they think nothing is wrong!)....so who knows what's wrong with this dude. I do agree that easier access may have prevented this, but as we saw with the Virginia Tech shooting, it doesn't work a good deal of the time. Just my two cents.

[kittylady]

'Easier access' is not a radical overhaul. As someone who's lived without insurance for most of her life, I can say that most people in my end of the boat know that free is worth what you pay for it. And I can speak from personal experience that bad help is far worse than no help.

By 'radical overhaul', I mean a much more strigent set of qualifications for accreditation, a much stronger focus on psychiatry as opposed to psychology, building of institutions that are kept and maintained at high quality of life levels, and a mandatory biannual evaluation by someone who passed those beefed up examinations for everyone in a high-stress environment (ie: everyone). And that's really just the barest start of what's needed.

[drd2be]

Except I personally AM a therapist for the 'easier access' folks, as are my peers. They are great therapists. If anything, they are the ones who are MOST devoted, because they get paid shit and do the job anyway, with tons of pressures to put more clients in their schedules

[kittylady]

It's been pointed out to me that there's a chance my earlier comment to you could have been construed as a personal attack. I assure you that my only intention was clairification of a point, and if my words caused you any personal offense I am truly sorry. I sincerely want your profession to be better than my own and many other's experiences of it.

Obviously I am biased, but I don't think that some of the problems you think exist in the "easier access" therapy settings--The Coleman Professional Services and Portage Paths and other Community Mental Health settings--really do, or at least not universally.

Huh. Let's try that a bit shorter.

Obviously I am biased, but I don't think that some of the problems you think exist in the "easier access" therapy settings really do, or at least not universally.

You just casually dismissed over ten years of my life in the hands of people who shouldn't have been allowed to hand out aspirin at a church picnic.

[drd2be]

I apologize if my statement made you feel that I was denying your expereinces. Are there bad therapists out there? Definitely. Are there people who shouldn't be doing it? Of course. In any profession there is a wide range of skill levels.

I am very sorry that your experiences with mental health professionals has been so negative. My point was that there are thousands upon thousands of clinicians out there and although your experience is terrible, it certainly does not mean that all therapists are bad.

I do understand that what you said was not intended as a personal attack, but I take a lot of pride in what I do and I appreciate my coworkers (and have in every mental health job I have had) not only for their relationship to me, but for their commitment to client care and the hard work they do. So, I was offended, although I understood you were not intending so.

[kittylady]

Obviously I am biased, but I don't think that some of the problems you think exist in the "easier access" therapy settings really do, or at least not universally. Your statement did more than deny my experiences; your statement turned a decade of my life invisible, denied years of the lives of my friends and family, their friends and family, and turned the entire life of my best friend into nothing. At absolute best, that type of statement is appallingly unprofessional of you

[sgtrocknroll]

Ok, I have opinions, but I am staying Switzerland on this.

I only have one request, and realistically this should go without saying as you all have known me for how many years?

Live Journal is Las Vegas. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

My House, I attempt to make as Drama free as possible, Especially on Sundays.

Therefore, if y'all wanna discuss this in person outside of Sunday and away from my house, fine. Otherwise keep it in Vegas.

Now I'm off to try to figure out how to whittle with this damn toothpick the Army issued with this knife...