Beyond the blue of bad and ugly help

"​No matter how hard you try to get beyond the blue of your depression, anxiety, relationship conflict, or trauma, you might still need professional help.  Here are some of the reasons why:
 

• You haven’t the time to work it out on your own (you are probably getting eyestrain from the glare of your phone as you try to Google answers to these problems).
• Your friends or family do not have time to listen to you.
• Your friends or family listen, but they do not listen objectively.
• You feel guilty about burdening your friends or family.

 
More seriously, you might be in need of help because the level of your need surpasses the help that can be offered in this Survival Guide.  This is why healthcare professionals were invented, and so here is a list of different ones you could approach:
 
·       Licensed professional counselors
·       Licensed clinical social workers
·       Psychotherapists
·       Psychiatrists
·       Psychologists.
 
Other professionals, such as primary care physicians or registered nurse practitioners, might have some knowledge about how to help you, but (unlike the above-mentioned professionals) mental health is not their primary area of expertise.
 
Whichever type of healthcare professional you choose to engage, you need to recognize what constitutes the good, the bad, and the downright ugly forms of help.  You deserve a trained and experienced professional who can see beyond the blue of the male label, and beyond any preconceived notions that are tainted by racism, transphobia, biphobia, homophobia, or any other type of prejudice. 
 
Separating the Good from the Bad and Ugly Forms of Help
 
Striving for accessible mental healthcare is all well and good, but what if you finally get to access the healthcare and it is far from adequate? 
 
Do you recognize any of the signs of Bad and Ugly Help?" 

​Read more in Beyond the Blue, out now in paperback and ebook.

​Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC
www.chriswarrendickins.com
Psychotherapist, author of Beyond the Blue, and LGBTQ+ advocate
​#beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook