i had to take an mmpi when i was put inpatient as a teen back in 1987. i answered the questions truthfully. do you feel like the world is out to get you - do you feel unfairly treated - do you feel misunderstood - etc etc. i got labeled with borderline personality disorder. i told the truth on the test, but couldn't feel safe to speak out with the doctors. i was in a home where i was beaten, demoralized, branded a liar, and was sexually abused by two men for eight years with my own mother's knowledge. i knew that when i got home i would be punished more for causing problems and would be again labeled a liar by my family by my convincing, manipulative, martyr mother and that if i said a word of what was happening to me, i wouldn't escape worse. as a result, i was forced as a 14-yo to dope on thorazine and lithium for my "inexplicable outbursts," quarantined to what they called the QR (quiet room), removed from any contact with my friends, they forced me into a 12-step program for my depression (make amends for being depressed? what is that?) and was sent home when the insurance ran out. that was the first hospital, which was shut down a few years later for malpractice. Pacific Gateway in Portland, Oregon. i attempted suicide and again was put inpatient and misdiagnosed and mistreated by Providence Hospital in Portland, Oregon, only to be returned home for more punishment. Be very careful when you are *testing* and labeling people. it's fine and dand'y to be very scientific about all of this, and i'm not saying it is without value, but there is something to remember about systems. too much reliance and confidence will mean failure and these are real people with whom you are dealing. don't do them an injustice by reading the scores and abandoning the person who is being hurt by thinking you know everything. being honest on this test and then protecting yourself in a primal manner against the aftermath is a natural, even more honest reaction and behavior than this test takes into account. a portion of the hippocratic oath: >> I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. << this test, its interpretation and potential application... it IS harmful, scientifically flawed, subjective, and removes any power for truth and justice for an abused person. particularly for one who has been taught through years of experience that authority figures are not able to be trusted. as this patient, you will most likely a) either answer the questions honestly and be protectively deceptive verbally in your sessions, or b) be dishonest on both. you have been given no choice. no other option.
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