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Is Validation Reducing Our Resiliency?
I am a mental health counselor who is seeing a trend of over-identification with personal struggles, which is leading to a decreased desire to heal.
I work with clients who struggle with mental illnesses and, even through processing, skill building, and psycho-education, they remain stuck. I beginning to explore one reason why this may be the case.
More Comfortable with Struggling
I had an interesting conversation with a client last week about being stuck in their mental health recovery. The client mentioned they were more comfortable being sick than they were getting better.
I found this client’s insight to be powerful and honest. The client and I went on to have a conversation about how, for most of their life, they have been in therapy. They have been to treatment, taken medication, and been diagnosed with various mental illnesses.
For so long, they have been the patient. And, in being the patient, they get to be validated by mental health professionals and comforted when they feel incapable of taking the next steps in their healing process.
We went on to talk about how I am one of the first counselors to not rescue them. I don’t…
