Paying Attention to Language

Do we as mental health workers suggest by our language that patients are “other,” foreign, and different from ourselves? Do the terms with which we refer to patients reflect an unconscious attitude that they do not belong to “our set” and we do not belong to theirs? Do we stereotype our patients without intending to? By the words we use, do we intimate that whatever is wrong with our patients is a permanent flaw, a condition that will remain forever? These are the questions explored in this Open Forum.