What we health caregivers can learn from Kavanaugh confirmation hearings

The recent Supreme Court nomination hearings wrenchingly brought renewed interest in sexual abuse, trauma, memory and the #WeToo movement. No matter your political point of view of the outcome, there is much in what happened that can apply to our own mental “HealthcareToo” world. Christine Blase Ford has held up a mirror to us by simultaneously being a professional and patient in all its complexity.

Patient care

First, these hearings are likely to have ramifications for our patients in many ways, among them:

• Given the increase in hotline calls, it is likely to increase the number of patients who come in for the repercussions of sexual abuse trauma, so we need to have the resources ready for that.
• We need to review how we keep records for those reporting sexual abuse, both to keep confidentiality and privacy, but also to adequately document information that can go public in rare instances.
• With all the attention to the veracity, or not, of trauma memories, we must be sure not to help install any false memories.
• We need to realize that although dressing differs across cultures, sexual abuse seems to have a high incidence cross-culturally no matter such differences.
• We can provide education on sexual abuse, both to women and men, young and old, to our communities, and perhaps even politicians.
• We need to be sure to continue to emphasize that sexual interaction with patients is ethically forbidden and the establishment of trust is safe.

Caregiver care

There are similarities between the reluctance of victims of sexual abuse to come forward and the sexual abuse that may occur in our own settings. Moreover, the reluctance to self-disclose that problem, as well as the wider reluctance to self-disclose about any mental disorders, affects us, too.

You might think that the sexual abuse of health and mental healthcare workers would be miniscule. After all, we understand the problem and are devoted to health and mental health. However, it has not been miniscule. The same seems to be true of burnout, mental disorders, and even suicide among ourselves. We not only are not immune, but perhaps more vulnerable due to our own vulnerabilities as often being wounded healers, as well as working in systems that have become more disempowering. Studies show physicians and psychiatrists have the highest suicide rates of any profession.

What can be done to help ourselves? Among the options are:

• Help eliminate any negative state licensing repercussions for confirming that one had a mental disorder.
• Since we too can often be blind about our own mental problems, administrators should try to normalize the self-disclosure of all staff, monitor our well-being, and set up mechanisms to help when needed.
• Understand how our own mental health challenges can actually add value to our caregiving, including consequent increased empathy and compassion for our patients, that is, as long as our own issues don’t interfere with our everyday functioning.
• Value empowerment of staff in our systems so that their healing capabilities are inhibited as little as possible with the resources at hand.

Times of crises can be a danger or an opportunity for improvement. Let us take our current societal and political crisis regarding sexual abuse and justice to improve our own workplaces and the well-being of ourselves.