Would you take advice about mental illness from a ';professional'; who has never had one?

I mean if the only knowledge they have about you're illness comes from text books.--by proffessional, I mean a therapist, or psychologistWould you take advice about mental illness from a ';professional'; who has never had one?
NO. I would NOT.


This happens to be my Very First Question that I ask any and all ';Professionals';. I know they have gone to school for many years (some of them), but unless they have experienced, at some point %26amp; time in their own life, walked in my shoes, then they do not, CAN NOT fully and truthfully comprehend the state that I am in- in order to offer me help.Would you take advice about mental illness from a ';professional'; who has never had one?
I agree with most of the answers you have been given.





Here is another take on this question -





There are many unrelated mental illnesses. ';mental illness'; is a catchall phrase for brain disorders that are poorly understood. A few ';mental illnesses'; do go over in neurology, though, like autism, strokes, alzheimers etc. So if you wanted a professional to treat your mental illness, you are asking that if you needed treatment for depression, you would want a professional who had that, if you had schizophrenia, they would have had to have that (good luck finding someone with schizophrenia who could handle such a stressful job!) etc. etc. for the very many mental illnesses there are, most of which are not related to the other ones.








Most counseling you get is not about your mental illness anyhow. It's things like grief about losing your job to your mental illness (disability issues) or learning to manage stress and relationships so your mental illness is less crippling, and how important it is to take medication if required for your illness. These kinds of issues, everyone can relate to, and benefit from.





PS they do not get all their knowledge from textbooks. More advanced classes in college rely more on the professor, because textbooks are out of date the day they are given to the publisher, let alone when printed and distributed.
Yes. THat's a bit like asking if one would follow the advice of an oncologist if she or he had never had cancer. Of course you would.
Yes I would if they were good. So, if you were an alcoholic, then you would only take the knowledge of an alcoholic? Does that make sense? Just because someone has been through it does not make them necessarily the choice for therapy.
Hi,





Yes. Here is why: truth is truth, and no matter who says it, it continues to be true. So if the therapist gives some advice, no matter his or her background, I'd consider it for its contents.





John.
Yes... that is what they have trained for, that is what they have studdied, that is their profession, they are there to help you.


Just because the person has not personaly experienced the disorder, does not mean that they do not know about the disorder or how best to help you recover.





Most health professionals have to actualy prove that they know how to assist with ailments before they can practice their profession. So they have to have practical experience about the correct treatment of mental disorders before they are allowed to practice unassisted.


So I do not think you need to worry about the fact that they may not have personal had a mental illness. Because they have definatly shown that they know how best to treat a mental illness or else they would not be allowed to practice their profession.


But if you have any concerns about this health professionals ability, do some research on them through the health board, make sure they are regestered and accredited. Also their is nothing wrong with getting a second opinion, or a third or a forth...:-)





Remember that their learnings are based on years and years of research done by health prefessionals arround the world. Their techniques are derived from that research and tested before being approved as a recomended treatment.
I guess I'm not sure what you're asking but I'll give it a shot...





If the Psychiatrist, Psychologist or therapist was just giving you some free advice (IE not in a clinical situation) then I guess I would take the advice under consideration.





If the above professionals know your personal history and your illness then yes I would take their advice. That's what they're trained to do.





As a patient I would want the advice from a professional with the training needed to get where he/she is now. It doesn't really matter to me if he/she is depressed. In fact, I would rather the therapist have a unbiased opinion about my illness in general.