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I’d like to campaign for certain words and phrases to be banished forever from the psychiatric lexicon. Starting a list, with explanations. Please join in.
‘Medically cleared’. This is obvious, right? People (including me) have written whole articles about it.
@rcpsych
‘Medically cleared’. This is obvious, right? People (including me) have written whole articles about it.
@rcpsych
‘Gate keeping’. How is this so widespread? Patients are not unwelcome intruders who should be prevented from breaching our defences! We are talking about vulnerable people and whether or not they can be admitted to hospital or otherwise access care. This language is not ok.
Risk assessment nonsense:
“Guarantee their safety”
“Fleeting suicidal thoughts”
“Low risk”
All phrases whose purpose is to allay the clinician’s own anxiety rather than to reliably predict risk.
“Guarantee their safety”
“Fleeting suicidal thoughts”
“Low risk”
All phrases whose purpose is to allay the clinician’s own anxiety rather than to reliably predict risk.
Phrasing of ‘difficult questions’ (ie suicide) which med students are inexplicably taught as good comm skills:
“This is just a screening question”
“This is just a question I have to ask everyone”
Subtext: “I’m not interested in you specifically” and “please don’t say yes”
“This is just a screening question”
“This is just a question I have to ask everyone”
Subtext: “I’m not interested in you specifically” and “please don’t say yes”
