Reading Clark & and Connor’s article Language Matters (BACP CYPF, June 2025), facilitated further consideration on the role of advocacy.

Self Reflection

Self-reflective questions include: How active am I in increasing my understanding of each? What part might I be playing in another’s suffering/discrimination in the therapy room and beyond? How might this knowledge help soften my position? Might I feel able to advocate for one aspect of a client’s identity but not another? How might that impact my client? What work might I need to do to enable deeper advocacy? 

Language Matters: who do we exclude?

A question I often ask myself and supervisees is, ‘Who are we excluding by using certain, particularly binary, language? Are we considerate if we are not impacted personally? Do we de-humanise those we don’t understand or where an aspect of our client’s identity evokes discomfort within ourselves?

Minor tweaks can make such a difference to those excluded by language. We generally like to think of ourselves as good people. So being invited to change the language we use can feel challenging. Often, it’s more helpful and fruitful to call out the language or behaviour that is problematic rather than the person, which is something that resonated within the article. 

Language Matters: causing harm

I regularly hear ‘I didn’t intend to cause harm’ with the language used, and therefore I didn’t cause harm. This is such an un-empathic response, which invalidates the other person’s experience. It’s a little like someone treading on your toe. Whether they do it intentionally or not, your toe will still hurt.

Keeping our language up-to-date and inclusive is part of our commitment, as BACP members, to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which states that no specific gender or sexual identity is preferable over another. 

There is currently increased discrimination for trans young people and adults across the UK and beyond. It’s helpful to see cisgender allies educating via this article.