Does JWH blame the victim?
Previously I addressed some of the common criticisms of Janice Walton-Hadlock's (JWH) work. It is usually clear the critics have little knowledge of the work, especially the more recent writings. So I'm tempted just to ignore them. But in this post I want to address one of the common complaints I haven't touched on previously. That is the notion that JWH “blames the victim.” Some folks feel either that JWH blames them for having caused their PD, or would blame them for not doing enough if they didn't recover.
I have to wonder if the idea that JWH blames the victim reflects the stigma our society attaches to psychological disorders. Perhaps some people, told that they triggered their PD with their own mind, take as criticism the observation that they have a psychogenic condition. Perhaps they would feel differently were it not for that stigma.
Perhaps because of my training as a psychologist, I take as a given that we all have our psychopathologies meriting no more shame than a sprained ankle. And the great thing about psychological disorders is that they're generally amenable to psychological intervention carrying zero risk.
My own view, and that of others I talk with, is utterly different from the “blames the victim” notion. To me JWH offers hope and empowers the patient. Her careful argument that idiopathic PD is psychogenic in nature gives me hope I can actually do something about it, that I may be able to truly recover. It gives me a way of approaching that accompanied by evidence it can work. (And so far, so good!) That nurtures optimism and things to look forward to!
Rather than hear blame when JWH lists some of the reasons many patients never recover (Recovery from Parkinson's, 2020, pp. 133-134) I hear more hope, hope that recovery remains possible so long as I resist falling into any of those unfortunate categories. This again is empowering!
So in approaching JWH's writings I hope we can step away from questions of blame and consider how they can be inspiring and empowering. Nurturing optimism is an important part of the protocol, and that might be a good place to start!