Being Seen Is Vital For Healing

“I’ve seen EIGHT therapists before you! You’ve got my situation in five minutes; they didn’t get it in months or years.”

This is a common response I hear when I start working with sex workers. I’m a therapist. People come to see me for many reasons: anxiety, depression, mid-life crises, or career development. Some clients just want to stay on top of their mental health.

The last thing they need when they are feeling like shit is to be judged for the job they do.

The Danger of Pathologizing

Why is sex work a stigmatized profession? I don’t know. I mean, I can’t get my head around why so many therapists “pathologize” the job their clients work in. Pathologizing is a dangerous road; it means the therapist automatically assumes that sex work is:

• Inherently harmful
• Illegal
• Forced or coerced
• Not a choice
• A symptom of poor mental health

Here’s the thing: sex work is related to poor mental health. But so is being LGBTQAI+.

Most therapists, medical practitioners, and support workers assume that any sex worker experiencing mental health challenges is struggling because they are a sex worker.

No. They are experiencing these challenges — and are more likely to experience them than those in other industries — because of the stigma of the job. They face higher rates of mental health problems for the same reasons LGBTQAI+ people do: prejudice, judgment, and an increased risk of violence.

Internalized Whorephobia

Therapists are unlikely to say to an LGBTQAI+ client... read more on Medium.