LORRAINE KERWOOD LMSW, CSWA
LKERWOOD@PEACEHEALTH.ORG
DESK: 541-682-5272 CELL: 541-214-5372
LANE EASA
PEACEHEALTH
2411 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD
EUGENE, OR 97401
WHO YOU CALLING CRAZY?
USING RESPECTFUL LANGUAGE IN TREATMENT SETTINGS
In my presentation, I will offer a positive and
alternative view wherein we, as service providers,
can ensure that the words and language we use is
respectful, and that it accurately reflects back to
participants the “whole” of who they are.
Language has great power to reshape the ways
participants view themselves – providing
feedback that empowers and offers new life
stories that include possibilities and hope.
THE WORDS WE USE IN OUR CLINICAL PRACTICE, WHEN THOUGHTFULLY
CHOSEN, CAN BE USED TO CHANGE THE CULTURE THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS
WITHIN THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM AT LARGE, A CULTURE THAT OFTEN
SHAMES AND MARGINALIZES THE PEOPLE WE DESIRE TO SERVE.
“Language is not simply a reporting
device for experience but a defining
framework for it.”
-BENJAMIN WHORF
“LANGUAGE DOES
HAVE THE POWER TO
CHANGE REALITY.
THEREFORE, TREAT
YOUR WORDS AS THE
MIGHTY INSTRUMENTS
THEY ARE…”
DAPHNE ROSE KINGMA
Language shapes the
way we see and interpret
the world. The pejorative
and/or non-respectful
language we use with and
about our clients
influences the way we
think about them, and the
ways they think about
themselves.
While we may think
we’re simply being
“casual,” in fact nonrespectful language
dehumanizes clients
and enforces the
“power over” structures
most mental health
professionals would tell
you they are working to
mitigate.
WORDS HAVE POWER
“Words have power. They have the power to teach,
the power to wound, the power to shape the way
people think, feel, and act toward others. When a
stigmatized group of people, such as those with
mental illnesses, is struggling for increased
understanding and acceptance, attention to the
language used in talking and writing about them is
particularly important."”
—Otto Wahl
Community, systems, and societal acceptance and
appreciation of consumers—including protecting their rights
and eliminating discrimination and stigma—are crucial in
achieving recovery. Self-acceptance and regaining belief in
one's self are particularly vital.
~ SAMSHA, THE 10 FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS OF RECOVERY
GEORGE ORWELL
IF THOUGHT CORRUPTS
LANGUAGE, LANGUAGE CAN
ALSO CORRUPT THOUGHT.”
STEVEN PINKER COINED THE
TERM:
"EUPHEMISM TREADMILL"
STEPHEN PINKER COINED THE PHRASE
"EUPHEMISM TREADMILL" IN HIS BOOK, THE
BLANK SLATE.
HE WAS ALLUDING TO OUR TENDENCY TO USE
NEW WORDS TO REPLACE OLD WORDS THAT HAVE
BECOME OFFENSIVE, WHICH THEN BECOME
OFFENSIVE THEMSELVES.
AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IS THE TERM "EMOTIONALLY
DISTURBED," WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO
DESCRIBE PEOPLE WITH VARIOUS KINDS OF
EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. HOWEVER IN RECENT
YEARS IT'S COME TO BE A PEJORATIVE IN AND OF
ITSELF.
WHAT DOES
PERSON-FIRST LANGUAGE
MEAN?
• Names the person first and the
condition second; for example, a
"person with a disability" rather
than a "disabled person." It's about
making the disability a secondary
attribute, not a primary
characteristic.
• The term "person-first language"
originally appeared in 1988 as
recommended by US advocacy
groups.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF REFERRING
TO PEOPLE AS ILLNESS?
MY BROTHER IS SCHIZOPHRENIC
MY MOM IS ANOREXIC
THAT PATIENT IS BIPOLAR
WHAT HAVE YOUR HEARD
ABOUT “CRAZY” PEOPLE?
SHE’S SUCH A DRAMA QUEEN
HE IS SUCH A NUT JOB
THAT PATIENT IS BIPOLAR
EFFECTS OF
NEGATIVE WORDS
• PEOPLE MAY INTERNALIZE THE
•
•
•
•
•
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES
PEOPLE MAY FEEL ASHAMED
PEOPLE MAY BLAME
THEMSELVES FOR THEIR
DIFFICULTIES
PEOPLE MAY LOSE
CONFIDENCE IN THEIR
ABILITIES
PEOPLE MAYBE BECOME
DEMORALIZED
PEOPLE MAY DIRECT THEIR
ANGER AND HELPLESSNESS
BACK UPON THEMSELVES
Recovery-based language is the use of words that:
• promote recovery and hope
• put the person first and her or his diagnosis or
circumstances last
• recognize the individual's inherent strengths
• help people identify their challenges, needs, and barriers
as a part of their experience rather than labeling them as
weaknesses, problems, or deficits that imply that they are
broken or their experience is "abnormal"
HOW CAN WE PROMOTE BEST
PRACTICES IN LANGUAGE
USE?
• name the individual illness rather than label
the person (person-first language)
• avoid generic stereotypes (i.e., not "the"
mentally ill; there are many mental illnesses)
• recognize that people with disabilities have
many differences: what they most often have
in common is the prejudice they face
• involve participants in the mental health
profession (i.e., use their voice in writing
grants, editing articles, participating in
advisory boards)
• model respectful language ALL the time, with
EVERYONE
A QUIET PARTICIPANT
WHO CAUSES NO
COMMUNITY
DISTURBANCE MAY BE
DEEMED “IMPROVED”
A “TREATMENT RESISTANT”
PARTICIPANT
MAY BE CONSIDERED
“UNCOOPERATIVE”
“NON-COMPLAINT”
AND, THEREFORE FAILED
THE PROVIDER - RATHER
THAN THE OTHER WAY
AROUND
US - THEM TERMS
• decompensating: when “we” experience
stress, we might not do well
• “we” may get bummed out, get burned
out, be short with our co-workers, call in
sick, or need a leave of absence
• “they” decompensate
LANGUAGE OF US/THEM BY MAYER SHEVIN
We like things
They fixate on objects
We try to make friends
They display attention seeking
behavior
We take breaks
They display off task behavior
We stand up for ourselves
They are non-compliant
We have hobbies
They self-stim
We choose our friends wisely
They display poor peer
socialization
We persevere
They perseverate
We like people
They have dependencies on people
We go for a walk
They run away
We insist
They tantrum
We change our minds
They are disoriented and have
short
attention spans
We have talents
They have splinter skills
We are human
They are . . . ?
SOME MENTAL HEALTH STIGMATIZING WORDS
TO AVOID ARE:
MENTALLY ILL
WACKO
DEMENTED
EMOTIONALLY
DISTURBED
CUCKOO
SCREW LOOSE
INSANE
MENTAL
BRAIN DEAD
CRAZY
DERANGED
HIGH OR LOW
FUNCTIONING
ODD
MAD
DELUSIONAL
ABNORMAL
LOOPY
CASE
PSYCHO
OUT OF IT
DECOMPENSATE
MANIAC
SLOW
DEMENTED
LUNATIC
NUTS
MESSED UP
LOONEY
DISTURBED
SCHZIO
VIEW VIDEO AT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Wv49RFo1ckQ&noredirect=1
“Part of the problem with the word
'disabilities' is that it immediately
suggests an inability to see or hear or
walk or do other things that many of us
take for granted. But what of people who
can't feel? Or talk about their feelings?
Or manage their feelings in constructive
ways? What of people who aren't able to
form close and strong relationships?
And people who cannot find fulfillment
in their lives, or those who have lost
hope, who live in disappointment and
bitterness and find in life no joy, no
–FRED ROGERS
love? These, it seems to me, are the real
disabilities.”