Leveraging the Strengths of Psychologists with Lived Experience of Psychopathology

Abstract

Psychopathology is a common element of the human experience, and psychological scientists are not immune. Recent empirical data demonstrate that over 80% of clinical, counseling, and school psychology faculty and graduate students have lived experience of mental illness (Victor et al., under review). This commentary compliments these findings by leveraging the perspectives of the authors and signatories, who all have personal lived experience of psychopathology, to improve professional inclusivity within these fields. By “coming out proud” (Corrigan et al., 2013), the authors aim to foster discussion, research, and inclusion efforts as they relate to psychopathology experiences within psychological science. To that end, the authors describe considerations related to disclosure of lived experience, identify barriers to inclusion, and provide concrete recommendations for personal and systemic changes to improve recognition and acceptance of psychopathology lived experience among psychologists.

Bridging Neurodiversity and Open Scholarship: How Shared Values Can Guide Best Practices for Research Integrity, Social Justice, and Principled Education

“…To address these gaps and move forward, we plan to conduct quantitative surveys and/or qualitative research to: 1) investigate the frequency of neurodivergent conditions and co-occurring mental health conditions in academia and higher education; 2) understand experiences (e.g., accommodations, relationships with colleagues and supervisors, satisfaction, different types of stigma, disclosure experiences) by neurodivergent individuals in academia and higher education; 3) understand attitudes towards OSch and neurodiversity of both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals. Victor et al, (2022) investigated the frequency of mental health conditions and experiences of disclosure and stigma among applied psychology graduate students and faculty members in the universities in the United States, finding prevalence rates of ADHD/C, Autism, and Specific Learning Disability are 8.9%, 0.3%, and 3.0% respectively. We hope to adapt (focusing on neurodivergent conditions) and extend their pioneering work by including participants from different disciplines (not limited to psychology), different educational and career stages (i.e., from undergraduate students to tenured professors), and different regions (not limited to United States or United Kingdom samples).…”

“…Authors' Examples of Positive Disclosure, Sharing Experiences and/or examples of neuro-inclusive practices/accommodations regarding Personal Identity and/or Experiences of Neurodiversity (adapted with reference toVictor et al, 2022 supplementary section).In the first (virtual) meeting with a new team, after introductions and covering agenda items, we spent a considerable time discussing everyone's access needs (e.g., timing and frequency future meetings, closed captions on Zoom, document layouts, fonts and colours). During the meeting, there was no pressure to have cameras on and we could use the chat function.…”

Perceived barriers to seeking mental health treatment among clinical psychology graduate students.

“…Despite these limitations, our findings align with past work that indicates clinical psychology graduate students experience multifaceted, unique barriers to accessing care, including stigma around help-seeking, limited finances, limited information, and dual relationships with supervisors and therapists. Clinical psychology graduate students are in a unique position in that they are vulnerable to experience the same mental health concerns that they are being trained to research and treat (e.g., Tay et al, 2018; Victor et al, 2022). Unlike the general population, clinical psychology trainees are impacted by unique barriers to mental health treatment and these barriers may have downstream effects on providing inconsistent quality clinical care and research productivity.…”

“…Taken together, this small body of research suggests that graduate students in clinical psychology are struggling with mental health difficulties and need mental health treatment, but they face barriers to accessing that treatment. Importantly, graduate programs may reduce help-seeking barriers among trainees by actively working to destigmatize engagement in therapy, providing a list of local resources and providers, and offering guidance on avenues to advocate for better pay and insurance benefits (e.g., Victor et al, 2022). There is a lack of previous research examining the accessibility of mental health treatment and resources to support student well-being for clinical psychology graduate students.…”

“…The field as a whole has recently been grappling with the impact of psychologists disclosing their own mental health concerns. Victor et al (2022) highlights that discussions about psychopathology among psychologists are necessary for “professional inclusivity” and to model how mental health issues are understood, assessed, and treated for the general population. Further, if a psychologist is not aware of their own functioning and well-being, they may not provide optimal or ethical care to their patients (Victor et al, 2022).…”