Mindful Happiness

Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

  • Home
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
    • About
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Contact

May 16, 2016 By Admin

More RESPECT is Needed for People Being Served

More RESPECT Needed for People Being Served

Recently, I read a post by William White, the well-known Recovery advocate.  The post dealt with the troublesome area of language used to describe, refer to people suffering from various conditions – addictions being only one.  While some may respond to his post by thinking it is simply a radical neo-constructivist viewpoint, I think he is right on the mark.  We all have conscious and unconscious biases, and we all “think” our own views hold merit. I believe a few simple reminders will help all Helpers learn and practice better ways to use language when referring to people who are suffering from various mindful-happiness-william-white-recoveryconditions.  Let’s be real: we all are suffering from something, but some people suffer from far more serious and painful conditions in their lives. Helpers face major double binds when it come to the use of language and labels.  To collect income for services, many of us must use DSM-V  ( The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) related labels and clinical conditions to prove to payers that the clinical situation is important enough/serious enough to warrant payment for services.  In other words we prove to the payers and the immense multiple layers of regulators and bureaucracy that the client/consumer/customer is eligible for covered services. Let’s NOT forget that it is a good thing when a person is eligible for services; intervention and support services, along with self-help, is often the most common pathway to recovery and well-being.  The double-edged sword of psychobabble and psychiabable is quite daunting.  The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual requirements still need to be used when billing is involved for specific clinical/licensed services.  However, that is where the marginalizing and difference-making language should END!  There is no justification to carry such language into other conversations about or with clients/consumers/customers.  So, STOP using the person’s clinical problem/diagnosis to describe them!

I offer a list of recommendations for you to consider.

Some come from White’s post and some come from me.

  1. Remember, that all people suffer from something – that only the intensity, duration, and harm are different.
  2. I like to use the terms “suffering from…” to describe a group of people with similar (but never the same) conditions. However, even “suffering from…” may feel pejorative to people with such conditions.  I do think, however, that step one of AA suggest suffering has occurred.
  3. White recommends that we use terms like: “people with….” or “people affected by…,” or “people experiencing….”  These suggestions make great sense and provide a subtle form of caring compassion for people who may suffer more than we (helpers) do – at least right now.
  4. He also suggests that the general public, which ALL of us have failed regarding stigma reduction and educational understanding of almost all conditions of suffering, may misunderstand the nature of such systems of recovery as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.  He hints that the progressive, inclusive nature of such self-help organizations may leave the public thinking they are only for people with ongoing, active addictions and compulsions
  5. Perhaps no other group has suffered more from the general and professional publics’ use of devaluing and marginalizing language than those self-identifying as LGBT and LGBTQIA.  We have a great deal of work to do to improve our language and attitudes when dealing with members this group.
  6. One of his suggestions is to consider the word “sobriates” to self-identify and identify people in recovery. This term implies there is no longer a need to use or misuse addictive substances.
  7. Along the same line of reasoning and fairness, he suggests we stop using terms like substance abuse. I prefer substance misuse, since this term could just about include all people who have ever used a mind-altering substance at any time in their lives.  This is a huge group.

For more information refer to William White’s December 4, 2015 post about the use of language at www.williamwhitepapers.com. Retrieved on May 7, 2016.

By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, VermontChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

CLICK HERE  or any image below to Order 

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

MindfulHappiness_Amazon           mindful-happiness_barnes_and_noble

 

Filed Under: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, Featured Tagged With: RESPECT FOR THOSE WE SERVE, WILLIAM L WHITE

Twitter

Mindful Happiness -Currently in Production

Mindful Happiness Posts

Vipassana Meditation – Emptiness One of the great insights from regular, long-term vipassana practice is the experience of emptiness. The actual knowing of it by the experience of it. This is not your typical conceptual emptiness of the West; it is not total void, negative beings, or nihilistic pit, or suffering in endlessness.  It is […]

Personal Experiences When in Longer-Term Silence The luxury (or horror depending on your perspective and psychological structure) of being in long-term silence is a rare thing in today’s noisy, super-active and reactive world. The experience is difficult to describe verbally. The best we can do is count on our own experiences and the writings of […]

Laughter to Support you in Suffering As we all know life is filled with joy, suffering, and neutrality or boredom. This is THE WAY IT IS! Or, as a very good old friend often reminded me: “It is what it is!”  In Buddhism we preach a middle way in various areas of practice; the same […]

Consciousness, Emptiness, and Well Being This is an advanced post on the complex relationship among consciousness (awareness), emptiness, and well being. Readers with advanced understanding of Buddhist Psychology will recognize the inherent relationships among consciousness, emptiness, and well being and interactions with core Buddhist concepts and experiences such as happiness and suffering, impermanence, non-dual nature, […]

Deepak Chopra’s Ideas on “The Future of God” – Part 3 of In this third and last post I will discuss Deepak Chopra’s views of the three worlds of human experience: Material, Subtle, and Transcendent.  As usual, I will paraphrase and add my own comments as appropriate.  Belief in god or a higher power has […]

What Consciousness Really Is Considering that we have been to the moon and back, and more recently surveyed important moons of Saturn, science is still a very long way from understanding how the human brain works – and even further away from having a clear, agreed-upon interpretation of human consciousness.  Consciousness is the “stuff” of […]

Wind Ridge Press NEW Publication! Author Anthony Quintiliani, a licensed psychologist with more than 35 years professional clinical experience, casts a wide net into the personal, clinical, and societal causes of prolonged human suffering and unhappiness in his book Mindful Happiness. The book’s guided interventions are aimed at helping to relieve depression, anxiety, traumatic reactivity, and […]

The Needs of Traumatized Children – Learning Activity As a means to hone in on your helping behaviors, complete this learning activity. NEEDS     List a Concrete Example for Each Unmet Need. Biological  _______________________________________________ Psychological   ____________________________________________ Social  __________________________________________________ Emotional  _______________________________________________ Educational  ______________________________________________ Spiritual  ________________________________________________ Attachment  ______________________________________________ What can YOU do to help meet […]

Expanded Information about Your Compassion Practices and Benefits Compassion Practice Tips and Exercises The Buddha noted that one should not dwell on the past, become too attached to future outcomes, but instead concentrate our mind only on the present moment of our experiences.  The Dalai Lama noted that compassion is a necessary condition for inner […]

Contemplative Practices – Affirmative Self-Inquiry Contemplation and affirmative self-inquiry may be helpful in improving your awareness of your better parts of self – your positive strengths and traits.  Our self-critical mind often causes us to spend far too much time on critical, negative thinking about ourselves and about others.  The practice below may be helpful […]

Mindfulness-Based Emotion Regulation The following emotional regulation practices (also called emotional balance skills) have been supported by over 2500 years of mindfulness training and current psychological research on human emotions.  These practices/skills are to be practiced before they are needed, and directly applied when they are needed.  Here is the list. 1) Practice noticing and […]

The Reality of Experience What is deep mindfulness?  Deep mindfulness is the concentrated awareness of all experiences, preferably without evaluating as pleasant or unpleasant. Deep mindfulness is pure awareness as it becomes part of personal consciousness. We humans, however, are always evaluating our experiences and phenomena as pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant – often getting hooked […]

Relational Suffering and Buddhist Practice Recently I experienced a deep, sudden, afflictive emotional experience. This sudden and profound sense of loss was due to temporary heartbreak; the temporary heartbreak dealt with rejection from a younger woman I found to be interesting and attractive (inside and outside). My “lost” person seemed to possess all the attachment […]

Interpersonal Mindfulness Various forms of mindfulness-based compassion training help us to care more about the needs, happiness, and health of other people. However, direct applications of interpersonal mindfulness activates these influences into direct action on behalf of others.  Thus, if lucky, we learn to care more about others and less about ourselves.  The self-centered ego […]

Helping Professions and Emotional Balance Helping professions must practice to achieve emotional balance.  Working conditions for the helping professions have become more and more difficult over time, especially with the advent of so called “helpful technologies” and ever-increasing governmental/funding requirements for documentation.  When I started in the (behavioral health) field of clinical psychology and addictions […]

Amitabha Buddha – Pure Land Meditation The following meditation had been modified by me to make it a more specific self-healing meditation and to better fit the time we now live in. Sit quietly and complete 3-4 deep, calming breaths. Pay attention to the quality and density of the light you see outside of your […]

Yoga Nidra and Your Inner Peace Yoga Nidra will allow you to relax like you may never have relaxed before.  Follow these modified instructions for your best relaxed state.  If at any time during Yoga Nidra you feel uncomfortable, simply stop and breathe in a manner that restores equilibrium.  Although this uncomfortable outcome is highly […]

Mindful Happiness – Brain on Meditation Reports from various MRI and self-report measure studies support the proposition that your brain changes (neuronal plasticity) when you practice meditation on a regular (daily) basis.   The same is likely true when you practice yoga on a regular basis. Here are some noted changes in brain functioning that […]

Tips for Improving Your Mindfulness Practices The following practices may improve your mindfulness skills.  It all depends – it all depends on whether or not you will do regular, daily practices.  If you desire to improve your mindfulness skills, consider following the tips noted below.  Most of the practices below involve sitting meditation.  Likewise, regular […]

Being Mindful Of  Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Recently I receive a heart-felt tribute dedicated to Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, who died recently.  The tribute originated from Louise Hay, a long-time associate, colleague and publisher of Wayne Dyer.  To those of us who inhabit the spaciousness of the spiritual world, perhaps, no other person in recent […]

Mindful Categories

Mindful Happiness Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Site Map

Copyright © 2023 · Mindful Happiness