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By Mitch Abblett, Ph.D.
Prior to beginning my training as a psychologist, I had a brief
stint as a law student. Though I left before the end of the first
year, I was in law school long enough to hear an abundance of lawyer
jokes.
One of my favorites: The devil visited a lawyer's office and made
him an offer. "I can arrange some things for you," the devil said.
"I'll increase your income five-fold. Your partners will love you;
your clients will respect you; you'll have four months of vacation
each year and live to be a hundred. All I require in return is that
your wife's soul, your children's souls and their children's souls
rot in hell for eternity." The lawyer thought for a moment. "What's
the catch?" he asked.
Our society loves to blast lawyers as profit-hungry and callous,
and yet, as a profession, it is common among attorneys to give back
to the community by engaging in annual pro bono work. The American
Bar Association in Model Rule 6.1 states: "Every lawyer has a professional
responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay.
A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono
publico legal services per year."
Can we, as psychologists providing mental health services, claim
an equal, commitment to volunteerism and pro bono work? Certainly,
many psychologists have served as volunteers and have offered pro
bono services, particularly in times of great need, such as in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina or after the 9/11 attacks. Psychologists
often respond when the need for clinical, professional response
is clearly required. Examples are readily available.
Consider Richard Shulman, one of the psychologist-founders of the
Volunteers in Psychotherapy program in West Hartford, Conn. Shulman
began his program in 1999 with three psychologist-colleagues who
wanted to make psychotherapy available to underserved clients, especially
those without access to health insurance. In this program, clients
can "barter" for therapy hours by giving volunteer service (such
as in a soup kitchen). Shulman's "VIP" program is notable for fostering
helping in both the professionals and the clients.
Indeed, psychologists are inherent helpers; it's what initially
drew us toward clinical practice. Lawyers' motives might appear
less altruistic, but they do have a clear ethical call to pro bono
service. Do psychologists? Upon examination of the American Psychological
Association Ethical Guidelines, the "Preamble" calls upon psychologists
to use their "scientific and professional knowledge" to ". . . improve
the condition of individuals, organizations and society." "Principle
D: Justice" asks that psychologists ". . . recognize that fairness
and justice entitle all persons to access to and benefit from the
contribution of psychology . . ." We are given a very broad exhortation,
but apparently no specific guideline or ethical responsibility regarding
volunteer or pro bono service. Though psychologists are indeed helpers,
and many give of themselves outside their paid work, I am wondering
whether we, as a group, help as much as we might.
I have often considered volunteering in my free time or offering
pro bono services, but over the past several years, it's never come
to fruition. While it's always an individual's responsibility to
make space in life for a habit of helping, perhaps there are factors
making some clinicians less likely to volunteer their services.
The literature suggests possibilities.
For me, and perhaps others who have spent years doing clinical
work with difficult clients, it's sometimes hard to imagine taking
on the additional burden of pro bono clients. Clinical work demands
much from helpers emotionally and leaves many therapists with their
own impairments. "Compassion fatigue or secondary/vicarious dramatization"
emerges when the helping begins to create real emotional hurt for
the practitioner. It's no wonder that survey findings have suggested
significant rates of depression or anxiety among clinicians. The
end result is overly-taxed emotional reserves for the therapist
and less inclination for volunteering one's services. For some psychologists,
when it comes to empathy, perhaps they already gave too much at
the office.
Even more than the tendency to malign attorneys, many in society
have come to despise the repercussions of the managed care industry.
One has to wonder at the impact on psychologists' helping and volunteerism
when, due to time and financial pressures, practitioners must scramble
to piece together a viable client roster. John Darley and Daniel
Batson's 1973 experimental test of the "Good Samaritan" parable
clearly demonstrated that even seminary students, if led to believe
they were running late, would, by and large, step over an obviously
"suffering" homeless research confederate. When the time and financial
pressure is on, perhaps many of us psychologist-"Samaritans" miss
our chance to do good when it arises.
Many psychologists give of their time and services, but perhaps
many (including myself) do not pitch in as much as we might. Are
we satisfied with our current levels of pro bono service delivery?
With all our knowledge and skill for educating and creating positive
change for others, and with our status as professional helpers,
shouldn't we model a higher standard of volunteer service?
It does not take much study of systems theory, social learning
models, and group dynamics to understand that we are all interconnected
and shape each others' lives. Shouldn't our actions model mutual
responsibility, a sense of "connectivity" with our communities?
Perhaps we, psychologists, might do well to discuss avenues for
addressing whatever obstacles there might be and increasing our
presence as volunteers? We should indeed be more than paid helpers;
we should strive to always be helpful people.
Mitch R. Abblett, Ph.D., is clinical director of Manville School,
Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston, Mass.
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