Which is why I said ‘or at least claimed to be’. However, I have also met various ex-patients since I left that job, at a point where that power relationship was almost completely gone (of course there might be residues of it, but I had no actual power over them) and they’ve volunteered the same information. Also, I have several friends with psychiatric problems who’ve said the same kind of thing about their own experiences, and who haven’t ever been patients anywhere where I’ve worked.
(Also, in my experience, patients trusted me with confidences with which they didn’t trust the other staff members—I was better at building up trust relationships with patients than most staff were).
On the whole I think that even allowing for the strong motivation to lie, I think that a minimum of 75% of those who said they were grateful actually were grateful. And while I am in principle in favour of people being allowed to kill themselves, I think saving the lives of three people whose (if you like) CEV is actually that they don’t want to be dead is worth the temporary inconvenience to the fourth who really does want to be dead and who is not mentally ill. (I actually think the numbers are skewed far more towards those who don’t really want to die).
True, but it’s unlikely that someone would, for example, see me across the street (when I have obviously not noticed them), run across and thank me for all the help and tell me how much their life has improved unless it had, in fact, improved.
True, but it’s unlikely that someone would, for example, see me across the street (when I have obviously not noticed them), run across and thank me for all the help and tell me how much their life has improved unless it had, in fact, improved.
People in that situation would have every reason to lie to you, though, wouldn’t they?
Which is why I said ‘or at least claimed to be’. However, I have also met various ex-patients since I left that job, at a point where that power relationship was almost completely gone (of course there might be residues of it, but I had no actual power over them) and they’ve volunteered the same information. Also, I have several friends with psychiatric problems who’ve said the same kind of thing about their own experiences, and who haven’t ever been patients anywhere where I’ve worked.
(Also, in my experience, patients trusted me with confidences with which they didn’t trust the other staff members—I was better at building up trust relationships with patients than most staff were).
On the whole I think that even allowing for the strong motivation to lie, I think that a minimum of 75% of those who said they were grateful actually were grateful. And while I am in principle in favour of people being allowed to kill themselves, I think saving the lives of three people whose (if you like) CEV is actually that they don’t want to be dead is worth the temporary inconvenience to the fourth who really does want to be dead and who is not mentally ill. (I actually think the numbers are skewed far more towards those who don’t really want to die).
People tell lies just to make you feel better; even depressed people will do this.
True, but it’s unlikely that someone would, for example, see me across the street (when I have obviously not noticed them), run across and thank me for all the help and tell me how much their life has improved unless it had, in fact, improved.
I’m not convinced of this. Some form of self-deception could be in play. There’s some evidence that in some aspects depressed people are more realistic and rational about their surrounding world. A person who is no longer depressed might simply have convinced themselves otherwise. I consider this to be unlikely but it is worth considering in this context.