The three doctors, and the psychologist I want to be

Many years ago, I saw a medical doctor. 'I am a doctor; I know better than you what is wrong with you and how you feel,' he told me. 'You will spend your life struggling, you will never be fully functional, because that is the nature of your diagnosis. I am sorry to be blunt, but I must be realistic.' For years, because of that interaction, I lost purpose. I became the labelling he put on me. 

I became a statistic in the system, the same system that held the power in creating these labels. The system where traditional mental health diagnoses originated from doctors who held powerful roles. This oppressive system forced me inside a restrictive box that impacted my life in every way possible. Such is the power of those in power: labelling others as abnormal. Then one day, something in me snapped. I could no longer accept the dire future this doctor spoke of. I joined the Open University to study Psychology, and I made it my focus to achieve in life and not become a statistic. 

This change came with much self-doubt and many barriers, but it has given me a deep passion for critical social psychology and for challenging stereotypes that are intertwined with power. 

A better way

Several years later, whilst studying my final module, I attended an Open University Psychological Society neurodiversity weekend. There, I met a second Doctor. After sitting in his presentation, I approached him and explained that I had lived experience of his presentation topic. He said, 'I have written books on this topic, and would love to hear your story'. We sat together whilst he listened, yet he did not tell me I was wrong. He did not present his knowledge as worthier than mine, even though he has spent a lifetime studying. He knew my experience was my own and that everyone has something to learn from others. 

After we discussed things, he said, 'Thank you for your valuable input, I have learnt more'. He heard me and valued my words. He did not label himself a doctor, yet he had spent 60 years researching, writing books and teaching at fine universities. He simply presented himself as Fredrick Toates, a fine man who didn't care for one's social position or educational level. 

A third doctor was my manager while I undertook a paid internship at the Open University. My internship focused on using my lived experience of barriers to enable tutors to become more inclusive educators. The Open University cared about breaking down power relations and employed many interns to challenge these. Suki Haider was my manager. She has spent years researching and working tirelessly to help many people access the world – a true social justice warrior! 

Again, Suki did not present as a doctor, just a down-to-earth person who goes above and beyond to help me and many others improve their life outcomes. Always gently guiding but never exhibiting power or intellectual bias. She respected my knowledge, heard my ideas, valued them and enabled me to thrive. She knows of my diagnosis but does not see it as a limitation. Instead, it is celebrated and welcomed. I respect her greatly because she needn't dedicate herself to helping others, but she does. 

By Suki enabling me and the Open University offering this internship, I can now enable others; what a glorious chain of events. Through my internship, opportunities have arisen for me to present my work at conferences to highlight the power of the student-staff collaboration in higher education. I will also use these platforms to urge universities to embed challenging power dynamics, unconscious bias and stereotyping in their work with students. 

Power and positionality

We live in a world where social politics are in every interaction (Burkitt, 1991, cited in Taylor, 2017) and power dynamics are constructed and maintained in discourse (Potter & Wetherell, 1987, cited in Davies et al., 2023). Roses' (1989, cited in Taylor, 2017) 'Psy' disciplines explain how health 'norms' and polices have been created by perceived experts within psychology and psychiatry. Foucault highlighted these power dynamics and the oppression they cause in neoliberal worlds where individuals are commonly blamed for illnesses and issues they face (Taylor, 2017). His concept of governmentality can explain how doctors hold a position of power within society and, therefore, can perpetuate dominant health norms and be instrumental in constructing what 'normality' is (Foucault, 1970, cited in Taylor, 2017).

I was oblivious to these matters until I became empowered to begin studying psychology and learnt that cultural, social, individual, and economic factors impact one's position and experiences of advantage or disadvantage (Glaveanu & Jovchelovitch, 2017). I began to wonder – if people were not the sole cause of their problems, perhaps unequal power within society is a cause too (Billig et al,1988, cited in Andreouli & Manning, 2017). 

My story is about that positionality. The first doctor saw a label and used his power and position to limit me, most likely without being aware, because this way of thinking and behaving was embedded into his ideologies. Doctors two and three instead treated me as an equal despite me having a different health, educational and social position. They included me and enabled me to believe in myself, despite a dominant societal discourse which dictates that 'someone like me' can never achieve. 

Sometimes, after a lifetime of being embedded in power relations, it is hard to separate yourself from these dominant discourses. But meeting people who challenge these becomes a light in your journey. One day, when I become a doctor, I know which kind I will be. I will be the type who does not see a label and a box, but who instead empowers others, offers accessibility, and who looks to help others and spread awareness of the damage that unconsidered power dynamics create.

Planting the seeds

That first doctor was wrong – I am now close to completing my degree with first-class honours. Over the next five years, I plan to complete a master's degree in psychology. I hope to speak publicly to raise awareness of barriers and consult to encourage change and empower others. I hope that nobody ever needs to feel like a statistic again. 

So, if your own journey in Psychology has bestowed upon you a prestigious title, I implore you: don't lose sight of how you treat others who do not. Challenge your unconscious biases, and next time you meet someone, consider: could the way I interact with them be limiting their potential? Can I empower them to change their life outcomes? Can I be the person who highlights to them that there are ways they can break free of the restrictive label that society places upon them? Can I be the person who can put the seed in their minds that they can, in a world that has consistently told them that they cannot? 

• Samantha Morgan would love to connect with others via LinkedIn, to discuss barriers, similar topics, and further collaboration opportunities. 

References

Andreouli, E and Manning, R. (2017). 'Chapter 7: Studying Contemporary citizenship' in Andreouli, E. and Taylor, S. (2017). DD317 Book 1 Advancing Social Psychology, The Open University: Milton Keynes, pp. 233-269. 

Davies, A., Harrison, S., Horton-Salway, M., Lazard, L. and Stenner, P. (2023). 'Chapter 7: Why use text based qualitative methodologies? Introducing phenomenology and critical discursive psychology'. In: S. Harrison, H. Kaye, H. Ness, and P, Stenner. DE300 Investigating Psychology 3. P: 293-345. The Open University: Milton Keynes.

Glaveanu, P, V and Jovchelovitch, S. (2017). 'Chapter 4: Social psychology and culture'. In Andreouli, E. and Taylor, S. (2017). DD317 Book 1 Advancing Social Psychology, The Open University: Milton Keynes, pp. 111-144.

Taylor, S. (2017). 'Chapter 2: Changing people, changing times? Questions for social psychology in the twenty-first century'. In Andreouli, E. and Taylor, S. DD317 Book 1 Advancing Social Psychology, The Open University: Milton Keynes, pp. 5-99.