Prince Harry - something bugging me...

[StinkingCold]

Sorry, another Harry thread

Anyway, couple of things have been really bugging me recently...

1. He is getting paid 6 figures to be some advisor of a mental health charity

1. He has had 4 years therapy and is encouraging everyone else to get help like him

Now...here's my gripes!!...

1. What qualifications does he have to earn this salary as a mental health advisor?????? I've worked in mental health over 20 years, have an undergrad, MSc and Doctorate in a mh field, and have lectured on aspects of MH in my field. Despite my qualifications and experience, I would not consider myself qualified for a 6-figure salaried advisory post on mental health. So with zero qualifications or experience, how the hec does Harry think he is qualified to earn a six figure salary advising on the topic????? It just feels so naive and arrogant.

1. Good for you Harry, having 4 years therapy. Now in the real world, there is not 1 single NHS trust in the entire country likely to offer 4 years of therapy, or even 2, or even 1. Very difficult to even access 6 months or 3 months. Even for people who really really need it. I'm talking high risk, or whose functioning is severely impacted by their mental.health. The reality when you "seek help" for you mental health is a massive wait list followed by 6 sessions of guided self help over the phone. If you are really 'lucky' you might also be allowed to attend a short group programme of 6 sessions, maybe 12, probably on zoom. If you miss a couple.of appointments because you didn't get the letter, or phone was broken, or you were simply too unwell to get to your appointments, you'll probably lose the offer of the group or guided self help. If you have endured long and complex, multiple trauma, are self harming frequently, and drinking alot and overdosing - you might get offered 12 or 24 sessions of (probably group, maybe online only) DBT - but only if you really beg and show you are very very keen and won't miss any sessions. For most people, there is simply nothing. Maybe a referral to a charity for 4 sessions of counselling.

What planet are you on Harry. I wish wish wish you would realise how privileged you are to indulge yourself in 4 years of therapy, and that you could recognise your privilege. Wouldn't it be great if you could use you power and privilege to actually change the mental health system (in the UK) and advocate for more availability of therapeutic services, and maybe even donate large sums of cash to making therapy more available and accessible to the masses. I don't want to hear anymore about how therapy changed you, opened your eyes etc... Most of us simply.cant afford to go private, and the NHS is at breaking point and can't offer what is needed

[UrbanRambler]

@x2boys

Hes not working n Mental health Hes supporting a charity its not like he will sitting down with patients doing mental health assesments most "Royals" are Patrons of some kind of charity

Thank f* for that - he'd likely break into a speech about what victims he and his wife are, and start recounting all their difficulties in a bid to let the patient know that he feels their pain.

[Nancydrawn]

I mean, he abandoned his country. It might have been the best thing for him, but wittering on about feelings without actually working to advocate for actual mental health change drives me up the wall. He wants to use his colossal influence to push for more NHS sessions? Influence politics, in the UK or America? Talk about systemic barriers to treatment? Great.

To make six figures to expound upon his privilege? Give me a fucking break.

[Whoopy1]

@ForgedInFire

YANBU and I'm sick of celebrities raising "awareness" of mental health. There is enough awareness and not enough treatment to go around. I posted a few weeks ago about losing my partner to suicide- he was on a long waiting list for counselling that he never managed to access. I have been unable to access grief counselling despite self-referring and pursuing it. I'm lost somewhere in the system. I'm glad Prince Harry is able to fund himself 4 years of therapy but I can't even get help after finding my partner dead. The system is broken.

So sorry to read about your dp, finding him must have been awful (no words can truly describe how terrible that must have been), and my heart goes out to you.
There is so much wrong with a system that so badly let down your dp and is now also letting you down, by leaving you unable to access the help you need. 💐

[MissTrip82]

The thing that makes me uncomfortable about all of the royals involvement in ‘mental health’ is that it seems to focus on feeling good, and dealing with the vicissitudes of life.

Meanwhile serious psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia continue to be very heavily stigmatized, and funding for services needed to treat these serious conditions remains deplorable.

It’s a very very sugar-coated ideal of ‘mental health’ that seems to almost entirely exclude serious illness.

[Kapalika]

Put it this way - I don’t envy him.
He’s trading on his name.

[PlusCaNameChange]

I mean, he abandoned his country. It might have been the best thing for him, but wittering on about feelings without actually working to advocate for actual mental health change drives me up the wall. He wants to use his colossal influence to push for more NHS sessions? Influence politics, in the UK or America? Talk about systemic barriers to treatment? Great.

People would lose it even more if he did that. Also, the usual term is 'emigrating'.

[TooBigForMyBoots]

I mean, he abandoned his country

Abandoned? What do you mean? He moved abroad. Like many people do. That's all. He hasn't abandoned anyone or anything. No one is in a worse position for him going.🤷‍♀️

[cookingisoverrated]

He's a self-absorbed privileged twat who doesn't have a clue about what life is like for the other 99%.

[Why2why]

Oh dear! Meghan and Harry driving people crazy.

[Porridgealert]

No one is in a worse position for him going.

Ain't this the truth. Now if he shut up, and the papers just shut up going on about him, that would be a win for all of us. Bliss.

[StoatMilk]

@JustLyra

He’s as qualified as most other celebrity advisors to big charities.

It’s about his name. Not his qualifications.

Back in the real world, this is the truth - he's paid for who he is, not what he knows.

[Nancydrawn]

Was being melodramatic. But seriously, he could have lived a life of real, fulfilling service where he genuinely changed things for the better. That he didn't do so is entirely up to him, and I hope it is better for him personally. But then to turn around and instead of that real, sustained service, parlay his fame into a six figure salary to advocate for mental healthcare that few can afford...is frustrating.

I suppose he has the full right to monetize his fame. But to pretend that it's a noble cause for mental health is pretty grotesque.

[Susannahmoody]

I can barely look at his face any more.

At leat the other Royals are not disingenuous about their privilege.

[Susannahmoody]

It’s a very very sugar-coated ideal of ‘mental health’ that seems to almost entirely exclude serious illness.

^

Yup. It's the trendy bit of MH that he likes. You know, insta friendly.

[gofg]

YANBU

[UrbanRambler]

@cookingisoverrated

He's a self-absorbed privileged twat who doesn't have a clue about what life is like for the other 99%.

@cookingisoverrated Don't hold back - tell it like it is!

@Nancydrawn Yep, grotesque is the word for it. Still, now he's living in La La Land where many celebrities believe their own publicity and see a therapist regularly (whether they need to or not), he should feel right at home.

[Nancydrawn]

I don't mind that he's seeing a therapist--in fact, if it's helping him, I'm delighted. But there has to be acknowledgment how far away from reality it is for so many, who don't have access. I really wish he could and would advocate for systemic change, not just general willingness to talk about mental health. The latter is great, but relatively useless without the former. It's not just openness, it's also about access.

[UrbanRambler]

@Nancydrawn True. Yet he implied in the infamous OW interview that Megain had needed help for mental health problems, but somehow they had been unable to access it. Ridiculous considering that the RF probably have some of the best private healthcare in the world, and no doubt could have arranged for someone to visit M at home. It's not like they'd have had to run the gauntlet of the receptionist on guard at the local GP, then wait days for an appt with the GP, followed by months of waiting to see a psychiatrist/counsellor. Money opens doors instantly, no matter which continent someone lives on. The way they twisted the truth about that (IMO), and are now cashing in by getting involved with a MH charity, is all very galling.

[Crossing]

Yup. It's the trendy bit of MH that he likes. You know, insta friendly.

He should be more liked than he is then as so many peoples lives are like this now. They’re just hypocrites though, it’s fine when they are doing the insta friendly thing about serious subjects but not Harry.

[Cameleongirl]

I didn’t know much about this until I read this thread, but could we PLEASE debunk the myth that he’s working for a MH charity ( I know some PP’s have mentioned this). BetterUp, Inc. absolutely isn’t a charity, it’s a company that provides corporate and personal coaching for individual growth snd business performance www.betterup.com/.

Unless they have a charitable arm, it definitely isn’t providing free or low-cost mental health services here in the US and their website suggests that their services aren’t even covered by health insurance-they specifically say that it’s not therapy. MH services are desperately needed in both the UK and US….I’m not sure how Prince Harry’s role with this company will address that need. 🤔

[Porridgealert]

MH services are desperately needed in both the UK and US….I’m not sure how Prince Harry’s role with this company will address that need.

It won't address that need. It will address Harry's need for wonga. 💰

[WetShirtScene]

Tech salaries in California are insanely high. Executives can easily command upwards of $250k (usually far more with all things considered). I don't see why he shouldn't have a similar salary if the company thinks he brings significant visibility to their product.

[PurpleOkapi]

@Porridgealert

No one is in a worse position for him going.

Ain't this the truth. Now if he shut up, and the papers just shut up going on about him, that would be a win for all of us. Bliss.

No streets were closed, and no traffic jams were created? No publicly-funded resources were used to provide security for their vacation? If those things are both true, then fine. But if not, then this latest instance of attention-whoring did indeed affect others negatively.

[LolaLouLou]

Op.. I can't decide whether you are right or not about Harry. But, I do think his privilege seeps out of him. I honestly think he thinks he has been hard done by, hen many families will be huddling in one room this winter whilst they can't afford to pay for electricity and food.

I do think MH services in the UK are disgraceful and it is just awful. I admire people like you who work in the sector.

[trappistkepler]

nobody really knows what these two muppets are doing and on whose buck they are doing it. It is quite ... mind boggling, I can't find a word. You could ask Madonna to do the same, she'd come for a blacked out SUV and a security detail and then what...? What is the point, purpose or job description of these morons??