The Backlash Against “Therapy Speak” Is Problematic
Let me count the (many) ways
I say this as a person who did academic research on abuse, and as someone who trained and volunteered in the mental health field: the backlash against “therapy speak” is problematic.
“Trauma,” “abuse,” “attachment,” “gaslighting,” “OCD,” “boundaries”… you know the list. Yes, there are people misusing some of these words, and that’s unfortunate. Some are even misusing them to manipulate others.
But either we refine our understanding of a term through continued exposure to the concept (in which case, it helps for the broader public to keep talking about it; this furthers the conversation and creates opportunities for refining our collective understanding), OR the definition itself evolves alongside our collective consciousness (i.e., people use a term “wrong,” but in an insightful way, and our definitions eventually get updated to reflect this deeper insight that the laity has added).
An example of this latter case would be, say, Merriam–Webster’s 2022 Word of the year: gaslighting.
“Gaslighting” started off referring to situations wherein an abuser deliberately tried to make someone think they were insane (à la the 1938 stage play / 1944 film), but its definition now has broadened to encompass more generally…
