Joshua Thompson

About

Do I have to decide what to call it? People ask that early and with some unease about the answer, having spent years unable to settle whether the word applies to what happened to them. You do not. Abuse is a word with legal and social weight, and a great many people find it either too strong or not strong enough for their history. That leaves them stuck at the terminology instead of getting treated. We can work entirely without settling it. The effects respond to treatment regardless of what either of us decides to call the cause. I supervise others coming into the profession, and getting stuck on definitions is one of the more common ways good work stalls. Definitions are for other rooms. If the word is what has been stopping you, we can proceed without it. We can proceed without ever settling the word.