From The British Psychological Society: “As a forensic psychologist, I left the NHS when I realised I was complicit in a system that silenced the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our society. Weekly ‘equality group’ meetings, supposedly created to challenge inequality and oppressive practices within the Trust, felt like hollow tokenistic gestures. Without meaningful action, they left me feeling hopeless and helpless. It became clear these were just another tick-box exercise designed to pacify us and to prevent real change.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, I voiced my anger to supervisors and senior staff, who attempted to superficially ‘validate’ and placate my anger. The head of service, in a self-congratulatory tone, told me how he’d done ‘too much psychoanalysis to get angry over these matters’, as if detachment were a virtue. I wanted to swear, fight and argue all the way to the top.
I felt I was trapped inside the Matrix, expected to get on with my job, stay quiet while the system continued with the status quo. I was seen as the ‘difficult’ psychologist, too challenging, as I was creating too much noise in the hegemony of the system that was designed to hold onto its power.
Exhausted, I chose to step away and build my private practice, believing I could make more meaningful change outside these structures.”
