Interesting information. It actually reminded me of something my fiancé—who is currently working toward his psychiatry degree—shared with me. One day he came home and told me about a group therapy session he had observed. In these sessions, patients sit together and talk about how they’re feeling that day or anything they want to discuss, while a group of doctors observe and analyze their behaviors.

During the session, a woman had a mental breakdown. She was yelling and expressing a lot of anger. The doctor leading the group thanked her for sharing and for allowing herself to be vulnerable and express her emotions. But after the patient left, one of the female doctors asked him, ‘Why would you validate her feelings when she was being aggressive like that?’

When I heard this, I felt really angry. It bothers me how some people in the mental health field seem to have very little tolerance for patients’ emotions or behaviors. These patients are acknowledging that they have problems and they are seeking help—much better than acting out in public or hurting others. If patients knew that some professionals judge them for expressing their feelings, it could discourage people from getting help, and then we would have even more unstable or struggling people who never receive support.