well, we do. but that's not the solution.
the reality is, we're always going to need more psychologists. just like we're always going to need more doctors - there's a growing demand to treat both the physical and mental health of individuals throughout the world. but training more psychologists isn't the solution, we need to train more people. people like you and me.
what would happen if every time you cut your finger you needed to see a doctor? or every time you had a headache, you went to see a doctor? you would never be able to see a doctor because doctors would be inundated. fortunately we don't need to see a doctor for every physical ailment we encounter - we have tools and resources to be able to treat many of them on our own or with the assistance of friends / family. but what about our mental health? can the same be said for our mental and emotional ailments? judging by the high demand for psychologists, it would appear the answer is no.
what we need then, is better training. we need every day humans to be better educated. better skilled. better equipped to handle the mental stressors of their friends, family, coworkers. and this is what i'm wanting to do. i want to train other adults on how to listen, how to respond, how to manage crises. i want to train people to have difficult conversations. to equip them with skills to navigate what an individual needs. to help those individuals feel seen, heard, validated.
one of the saddest things i found volunteering as a crisis counsellor was that individuals needed to text a crisis text line just to have someone to talk to. someone to listen. are we really doing that poorly of a job to our fellow peers that they need a crisis text line to get the validation they seek? the solution here isn't more counsellors, the solution is better equipped humans.
if you’re interested in becoming one of these humans, shoot me a message. i’d love for you to be a part of this training. and together, we can learn to take better care of one another.
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