Empowerment Through Thought

I’ve been thinking a lot about what exactly it is about philosophy that makes it such a powerful tool for the survivors of long term abuse.

I was reading an article titled “The Philosopher as Personal Consultant” by Dr. Michael Russell. In this piece he is exploring the differences between philosophy and psychology as training ground for the job of personal consultant. While the piece is a bit extreme in my opinion, he has captured something that I think is part of the answer to the question I’ve been puzzling over. He writes:

“In philosophy, issues tend to remain present and open, and are thought about in a way, which leaves one as ready to advocate as to criticize. In empirical disciplines, such as psychology, claims are talked about in a way, which highlights their date, summarizes them, and treats them at a distance.”

One of the most frustrating things for me about my years of experiencing therapy is the way that psychologists treat ideas, theories, and studies as though they are finished. These tools that are supposed to help us navigate the fallout of this long term abuse are dead and just something we can pick up and use if we like.

But that doesn’t make sense as a survivor of long term abuse. I need my tools to adapt to the new perspectives I gain as I make progress in my healing journey. I don’t want to accept that for 80% of people doing X helps them feel more at peace with their no-contact boundaries with their abusers. If X isn’t helping me right now, then I don’t care that it works for the majority of people.

These ideas that are developed in research psychology and studied using the principles of scientific investigation are still just ideas. Yes the scientific evidence gives us some reason to think these ideas may be correct, but they may still be incorrect. We can see that throughout the history of psychology – see the diagnosing of homosexuality as a mental illness or using shock therapy as a treatment for mental illness as examples.

For me, ideas are living breathing things. They are something we should consider and explore right here, right now. I want to play with ideas and find the ones that bolster my healing journey. I do not want to be handed dogma and told it will work for me simply because it has worked for others within the confines of a scientific study.

Now don’t get me wrong, psychology certainly has powerful tools, but there is a lack of honestly when it comes to the fragility of the ideas that are at the foundation of the discipline.

This lack of honesty is important, I believe, especially for the survivors of long term abuse. We’ve endured gaslighting, manipulation, and countless other harms at the hands of our abusers. Healing from those experiences is a turbulent journey and we need tools that we can openly and honestly investigate. If tools are handed to us without the ability to critically evalaute them and whether they are good for us in particular, then we are vulnerable to being harmed once again.

A core value of philosophy is that you are allowed to question everything. As a practical philosopher, I do not think you should questions everything all of the time, that would be very taxing, but you should be able to question the tools you are using along your healing journey. You should be allowed to engage with these tools, these ideas, as if they are living breathing things that you can criticize, modify, and make your own.

And that’s exactly the sort of thing I do in my philosophical counseling practice.