Anonymity/Privacy, Lessening of Shame and common sense.
One of the historic solutions to the shaming and discrimination against those with certain experiences and illnesses is to attempt to ensure that someone can get help with an issue or treatment for a condition with minimum fear of being identified. In recent years many famous people have become public about their history of being sexually harassed or abused, their struggle with addiction , their sexual orientation and a host of other formerly shameful secrets. This decrease in secrecy has encouraged many to be more open and, thus, to show those still living in the shadows of an untreated illness to get the treatment they need. Still, it is not unheard of for employers, insurance companies and some businesses to discriminate if someone seek treatment which requires them to bill insurance, take time off from work, or be involved with the legal system. Candidates for political office have, at times, been forced to withdraw as a candidates when their treatment for depression or some other mental illness has been made public. The. chronic nature of addiction has caused many individuals to be reluctant to hire even those in long term recovery while other employers offer liberal programs to allow the addict to get effective treatment. Health care providers often use the Federal Privacy Laws to refuse to share any information with a family member even if doing so with facilitate the healing process for both the identified patient/client and the family.
The decrease in shame and accompanying openness of many public individuals has given many the courage to seek treatment. The willingness of many public figures to talk about their positive experience with a 12-step anonymous program has normalized the process for many. Some 12 meetings are open to friends, family members and health care professionals. They are always reminded that what they hear and see at the meeting stays there. Many health care professionals have replaced the strict adherence to the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act with common sense and a recognition of individual family situations. The increase in long distance health care service does not guarantee privacy even with using encrypted systems. I tell clients that if some can hack into the White House or military secure systems than someone could hack into the pricy but less secure systems used by health care professionals, courts or other agencies.
Some conditions such as sexual addictions and, especially, attraction and/or sexual abuse of children are subject to mandatory reporting. Certainly, if a child or another person is currently in danger, this makes sense. Yet it also makes it nearly impossible for a person to safely get treatment. It also makes it difficult to deal with the core issue of why attraction to and sex with young children is a condition which apparently supports a very large and profitable business.
The fact that many or most societies are still convinced that all have free will and that punishment is the answer makes it difficult to study and treat some conditions or illnesses.
It is imperative that we protect others from abuse while still doing all we can to ensure that we, as communities, reduce shame while focusing on identifying and treating core issues. We have to appreciate that while, with some issues, we are becoming more open and less shameful, protecting the privacy and anonymity of individual and families cat be an important component of health care. I would argue, however, that we do so with a large dose of common sense. I would also argue that we do all we can to both treat symptoms and to identify the core issues.
Written May 20, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
One of the historic solutions to the shaming and discrimination against those with certain experiences and illnesses is to attempt to ensure that someone can get help with an issue or treatment for a condition with minimum fear of being identified. In recent years many famous people have become public about their history of being sexually harassed or abused, their struggle with addiction , their sexual orientation and a host of other formerly shameful secrets. This decrease in secrecy has encouraged many to be more open and, thus, to show those still living in the shadows of an untreated illness to get the treatment they need. Still, it is not unheard of for employers, insurance companies and some businesses to discriminate if someone seek treatment which requires them to bill insurance, take time off from work, or be involved with the legal system. Candidates for political office have, at times, been forced to withdraw as a candidates when their treatment for depression or some other mental illness has been made public. The. chronic nature of addiction has caused many individuals to be reluctant to hire even those in long term recovery while other employers offer liberal programs to allow the addict to get effective treatment. Health care providers often use the Federal Privacy Laws to refuse to share any information with a family member even if doing so with facilitate the healing process for both the identified patient/client and the family.
The decrease in shame and accompanying openness of many public individuals has given many the courage to seek treatment. The willingness of many public figures to talk about their positive experience with a 12-step anonymous program has normalized the process for many. Some 12 meetings are open to friends, family members and health care professionals. They are always reminded that what they hear and see at the meeting stays there. Many health care professionals have replaced the strict adherence to the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act with common sense and a recognition of individual family situations. The increase in long distance health care service does not guarantee privacy even with using encrypted systems. I tell clients that if some can hack into the White House or military secure systems than someone could hack into the pricy but less secure systems used by health care professionals, courts or other agencies.
Some conditions such as sexual addictions and, especially, attraction and/or sexual abuse of children are subject to mandatory reporting. Certainly, if a child or another person is currently in danger, this makes sense. Yet it also makes it nearly impossible for a person to safely get treatment. It also makes it difficult to deal with the core issue of why attraction to and sex with young children is a condition which apparently supports a very large and profitable business.
The fact that many or most societies are still convinced that all have free will and that punishment is the answer makes it difficult to study and treat some conditions or illnesses.
It is imperative that we protect others from abuse while still doing all we can to ensure that we, as communities, reduce shame while focusing on identifying and treating core issues. We have to appreciate that while, with some issues, we are becoming more open and less shameful, protecting the privacy and anonymity of individual and families cat be an important component of health care. I would argue, however, that we do so with a large dose of common sense. I would also argue that we do all we can to both treat symptoms and to identify the core issues.
Written May 20, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
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