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Weekend selection: Safety is key for successful therapy, but many have experienced humiliation and sexism
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovakia /Elections & Politics

Weekend selection: Safety is key for successful therapy, but many have experienced humiliation and sexism

From SME · () Slovak

Translated from Slovak, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The article highlights instances where individuals seeking therapy for mental health issues encountered unprofessionalism, humiliation, sexism, and even harassment.
  • It features stories of a woman's negative experience with a psychologist during postpartum depression and an MMA fighter's struggles with bulimia due to pressure on her appearance.
  • The piece also touches on the importance of strength training for a long, pain-free life and briefly mentions other topics like the Pohoda festival and a French film director.

Seeking help for mental health challenges like anxiety and depression often means searching for a safe space where one can feel heard and understood. However, for some, therapy sessions can become spaces of humiliation, harassment, sexism, unprofessionalism, or arrogance instead of support.

Michaela Dvoล™รกkovรก, 38, described her first and only session with a psychologist years ago for postpartum depression as leaving her feeling "like an idiot" both before and after. Her experience, along with others who have faced similar negative encounters in therapy, was collected by reporter Michaela ลฝurekovรก.

The article also features MMA fighter Veronika Smolkovรก, who spoke openly about her struggles with bulimia and the extreme pressure she faced regarding her appearance. She detailed how she would vomit before fights to avoid online comments about her weight, and how toxic commentary and inappropriate attitudes from those around her contributed to her psychological problems.

Separately, reporter Monika Moravฤรญkovรก spoke with trainer, scientist, and educator Viktor Oliva about the importance of strength training. Oliva emphasized that regardless of age, everyone should adopt certain movement patterns to live a long, pain-free life. He stated that strength training is crucial for healthy longevity and should be a fundamental exercise for everyone, as strength influences not only how long we live but also the quality of those years.

Silovรฝ trรฉning je absolรบtny kฤพรบฤ k zdravej dlhovekosti a mal by byลฅ zรกkladnรฝm cviฤenรญm v ลพivote kaลพdรฉho, bez ohฤพadu na vek ฤi pohlavie.

โ€” Viktor OlivaViktor Oliva, a trainer, scientist, and educator, emphasized the critical role of strength training for a long and healthy life.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by SME in Slovak. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.