Evan Urquhart

Just saw this and for some reason I feel like wading in, god help me. 1/nhttps://twitter.com/kittypurrzog/status/1200970847848001537 …

I don’t know Katie, or where she was coming from. But, in my life, therapy has been a tool of very limited use. I am skeptical of therapy being ascribed powers that it does not have. 2/n

Speaking as a trans person whose gender dysphoria was missed, as a survivor of violence, and as a person who was homeless for a year, therapy was not as useful to me as finding meaningful work and making real world relationships and connections of mutual aid. 3/n

What I needed in the aftermath of my trauma was a safe supportive environment. What I needed when I was homeless was money and a place to live. Therapy I received at this time was, to be frank, worse than useless. Time picking at wounds which weren’t allowed to heal. 4/n

I had a really good therapy experience when I was early in my decision to transition. I was treated with respect by a therapist, rather than pity and condescension, for the first time. I’ve seen others have really good results from therapy. I’m not anti-therapy at all. 5/n

But, I believe that therapy is most useful when it is short term and focused on specific, attainable goals (and research backs this up). It is simply not a substitute for housing, healthy relationships, meaningful work, community, or a safe environment to heal. 6/6 (end)

Where did you get the idea that therapy is ever supposed to be a substitute for these things?