ch 4: pope

Systems of Silencing in Organizations

  • We live and work within complex networks of formal and informal social systems (families, social networks, religious/spiritual groups, political groups, government, universities, clinical training sites, workplaces).

  • Our contact with others in these systems occurs through diverse channels (face-to-face, Zoom/video conferencing, telephone, social media, internet lists, and other evolving means).

  • Entering any organization exposes us to cues about what to notice and what to ignore; implicit rules guide what topics are allowed, encouraged, or discouraged.

  • All organizations guard their image and secrets; every organization has taboo topics or things best left unsaid.

  • Systemic silencing is a pervasive feature; therapists and psychotherapy training contexts are not exempt.

  • When unspoken expectations conflict with individual values or with stated organizational goals, these expectations can influence how people behave, whether they follow, challenge, or reinforce them.

  • Core idea for this chapter: systems of silencing operate through cognitive cues that push people to stay quiet, shaping professional formation and practice.

  • Practical takeaway: recognizing and examining these unspoken rules is essential for learning, growth, and informed practice in therapy and supervision.

How Unspoken Rules Are Communicated and Enforced

  • Each organization has preferred, recognised ways of communicating implicit rules and corresponding consequences for breaking them; the rules’ importance and severity are emphasized.

  • These rules may not originate from clear motives; they can be unintended consequences of how organizations pursue worthy goals.

  • The rules may become internalized to the point that longtime members police them without conscious awareness.

  • This chapter serves as a reminder of how frequently we encounter these rules, secrets, and taboos—even in settings where psychotherapy is taught and practiced.

  • When unspoken expectations undermine the organization’s stated values, purpose, or goals, they can influence individuals’ roles in following, challenging, or reinforcing those rules.

  • Systems of silencing can seem abstract until we see their effects in our own lives and organizations.

  • Reflection questions to assess the reach of these unspoken messages within any organization (educational, business, clinical, religious, political, professional, social, or family):

    • What were some messages about topics that were okay or not okay to bring up (i.e., taboos)?
    • Were the messages explicit or implicit?
    • Were the messages conveyed to everyone? If not, were certain individuals or groups exempt?
    • Who could get away with breaking or discussing unspoken topics without significant consequences?
    • Did the messages seem to undermine the organization’s values, purpose, or goals?
    • Did the messages seem to have a detrimental effect on individuals inside or outside the organization?
    • Did any of these messages affect you personally?
    • How did you learn what the messages were?

  • Additional note: copyright statements appear in the source material; the core content here focuses on identifying and reflecting on those silent rules rather than reproducing the exact distribution permissions.

Factors Influencing Our Individual Choices to Stay Silent

  • Organizations cultivate, communicate, and enforce silencing systems, but each person can choose to avoid taboo topics or to speak up, risking sanction.

  • Internal voices urge reconsideration; these inner voices can highlight benefits of silence and costs of violating taboos.

  • Key pieces of self-silencing in graduate school affect future professional behavior; patterns often begin in early family and social experiences and become reinforced during graduate training.

  • Reflective prompts to probe personal silencing:

    • Did you ever decide not to speak up in graduate school because of the factors described?
    • Which factors do you find personally compelling when considering speaking up?
    • Are there other factors not listed that contribute to silence?

  • Rules and Lessons Learned Early

    • We are educated in families and early social interactions and internalize the social systems of silent rules as personal rules.
    • The majority tends to be taught ‘lessons’ about diverse ‘others’ that may not be spoken or questioned; those with oppressed identities recognize silencing messages and understand the costs of disrupting the status quo.

  • These early social rules are taught differentially by gender, sexual/orientation identity, religion, culture, or ethnicity and are carried into graduate school and the workplace.

Other Social Rules Are Carefully Taught

  • Early-on instructions may include prohibitions like ignoring another’s physical difference or disability.
  • Messages may warn that sexual attraction or anger and their expressions are inappropriate.
  • There may be admonitions not to speak of serious illness or impending death.
  • These lessons are often taught differentially based on gender, orientation, religion, culture, or ethnicity.
  • We bring these internalized social lessons into graduate school and clinical practice.
  • Graduate programs and clinical training sites are social and institutional structures that may not naturally foster recognition and exploration of taboo topics.

Competition

  • Graduate schools can encourage competition (entry, grades, professor time, assistantships, letters of recommendation, financial support, etc.).
  • In many organizations, people who are positively evaluated tend to be those who steer clear of taboos, align with unspoken rules, and fit institutional expectations (see research cited: Asaoka, 2020; Detert & Treviño, 2010; Jackall, 1988; Pope et al., 2021, Chapter 27).

Conservation of Energy in Graduate School

  • Graduate study is demanding: students must work hard, step outside comfort zones, and experience failures and successes.
  • Some students work part-time jobs; some have family responsibilities; others try to maintain a personal life, exercise, and sleep.
  • Rumors persist that some students prioritize textbook reading and exam prep over challenging institutional culture by speaking up about taboos.
  • Question posed: is the extra energy required to push against silencing worth it when more immediate academic tasks demand attention?

The Professional Work-Life Balance and Ethical Considerations

  • Working professionals juggle teaching, seeing clients, supervising, consulting, paperwork, and balancing career with personal life.
  • Raising taboo topics can be an additional, exhausting form of labor—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
  • The decision to speak up or stay quiet involves weighing potential change against costs to one’s energy, well-being, and career trajectory.

Risk Avoidance in Practice

  • Some topics are historically difficult to discuss openly (e.g., money, abuse, racism, oppression) even in supportive graduate programs.
  • Examples of debated topics in clinical training and practice:
    • Fees and payment for services (how much to charge; private pay vs. insurance; access considerations)
    • Providing treatment to wealthy clients who pay out of pocket to avoid insurance forms
    • Prior authorizations for treatment
    • Coverage limits and “lost” forms
    • Delayed or partial payments
  • Personal history topics may be raised to inform clinical understanding (e.g., experiences of sexual assault/abuse).
  • Topics related to race and oppression (e.g., White supremacy culture) may be brought up by Students of Color to address practice gaps.
  • However, raising such topics risks judgment or stereotyping by instructors, supervisors, or peers, even when such judgments are subtle.
  • If taboo topics are not addressed in graduate training, therapists may feel ill-prepared to manage them in practice; lack of preparation contributes to reluctance to discuss these topics, reinforcing the cycle of silence.

Risk Avoidance in Practice (Continued) and Momentum

  • Silence arises during graduate training and can become a vicious cycle that persists into professional life if not consciously addressed.
  • Momentum questions: if things are going well, is it prudent to avoid disrupting norms to maintain status and momentum toward favorable evaluations, raises, promotions, or job security?
  • Common justification: wait until after licensing or retirement to speak up, or after achieving job security.
  • Counterpoint raised in the text: delaying discussion may undermine ethical practice and personal integrity; transactional concerns should be weighed against professional responsibilities and client welfare.

Momentum: Practical Rationale for Speaking Up Earlier vs Later

  • People may rationalize postponing controversial conversations to protect career momentum (e.g., avoid jeopardizing a raise, promotion, or new position).
  • The text challenges this by noting the potential costs of silence to practice quality and ethical standards.
  • The argument emphasizes the importance of timely, thoughtful engagement with taboo topics as part of professional development.

A Minority of One

  • Asch (1956) conducted a classic study on independence and conformity with groups of seven to nine participants.

  • Setup: participants matched line lengths; one of three comparison lines matched the standard line; the other two differed by substantial amounts. All but one were confederates instructed to give the same (incorrect) answer.

  • Result: when others gave a clearly wrong answer, about a third (≈ 37 ext{%}) of the real participants conformed and provided the same wrong answer, despite seeing the correct line with their own eyes.

  • This demonstrates how social pressure can push individuals to conform even when they disbelieve their own observations.

  • Reflective questions for readers: consider whether you had similar reactions when in the minority and whether such thoughts and feelings influenced you to stay quiet and support the majority.

  • The text provides a sample of minority-of-one statements from Asch (1956) Exhibit 3.1 to illustrate internal conflicts when confronted with dissent in a group.

  • The key takeaway: identifying unspoken messages and maintaining awareness of factors that influence self-silencing is essential for growth, informed practice, and ethical decision-making. Cultivating this awareness is likened to exercising a muscle: with practice, it becomes more robust and resilient; neglect leads to atrophy.

Exhibit 3.1: Minority-of-One Reflective Statements (From Asch, 1956)

  • Representative reflections reported by participants who conformed or considered conformity include:

    • "I felt like a silly fool."
    • "A question of being a misfit."
    • "Some kind of pressure builds up in you."
    • "On the first one, I almost started to say something different but afterward, I more or less fell in with them."
    • "I thought I was weak-eyed or weak-headed, like a black sheep."
    • "I began to question whether my own perception was as acute as it seemed to be."
    • "I tried to make myself see it as equal."
    • "I guess my answers tried to minimize my disagreement."
    • "It reminded me of a time when, as a child, my mother threw a cupful of water at me because I couldn’t stop crying."
    • "My sister was there, and everyone seemed against me; I was separated."
    • "Often mine still looked best, but I figured they were right."
    • "I had a tendency to feel that perhaps I was wrong and might just as well agree with them."
    • "As disagreement continued it looked as if I was differing either to show off, to be an individual, or trying to stand out."
    • "I did not like that."
    • "I thought that they might have been seeing an optical illusion that I didn’t."
    • "After I became a conformist I was mad at myself."
    • "Wish I’d had the guts."
    • "I felt the need to conform."
    • "Mob psychology builds upon you."
    • "It was more pleasant to agree than to disagree."
    • "The group didn’t make me feel bad; I just wanted to agree."
    • "I made my own judgment, then considered the group’s judgment, gave it, and regretted it."
    • "I was beginning to become confused and was more prone to their influence."
    • "At first, I thought I was right, then I became convinced the other seven couldn’t be wrong."
    • "I stayed steady then."
    • "Toward the end I lost hope they’d come back to me, and it was too much for coincidence."
    • "Became sure I was wrong."
    • "I was disgusted with myself for changing and almost asked for another chance at it."
    • "It is not pleasant to be the only one different."

  • Exhibit 3.1 is adapted from: Studies of Independence and Conformity: A Minority of One Against a Unanimous Majority, S. E. Asch (1956).

Takeaways: Building and Applying these Insights

  • Identifying unspoken messages, secrets, and taboos in organizations, including psychotherapy training contexts, is crucial for ethical, informed practice.
  • Recognizing one’s own self-silencing patterns helps clinicians challenge norms that conflict with core values, client welfare, and professional integrity.
  • Training and reflection can strengthen the ability to recognize, explore, and understand taboo topics (e.g., topics related to oppression, finances, client eligibility, and personal experiences).
  • The book frames this as a continuous practice: the muscle of awareness can be strengthened; neglect leads to diminished capacity for critical inquiry.

Next Chapter Preview

  • The next chapter will explore how therapists’ sexual attractions, arousals, and fantasies can complicate recognition, exploration, and understanding in clinical work; this topic is framed as a challenging taboo area that intersects with professional ethics, boundaries, and self-awareness.

Summary of Key Concepts (Recap)

  • Systems of silencing: implicit rules that govern what can be said within organizations.

  • Hidden rules are communicated in overt or subtle ways and can be internalized over time.

  • Silence can be a function of internal voices and external organizational pressures, reinforced by competing demands and career considerations.

  • Early socialization shapes self-silencing; graduate training can reinforce or challenge these patterns.

  • Competition, energy costs, risk aversion, momentum, and minority status influence decisions to speak up.

  • Asch’s classic findings illustrate the power of group influence and the costs of dissent.

  • Developing awareness of unspoken messages supports ethical practice and informed professional growth.

  • Key formulas to remember:

    • Group size in Asch study: 7 ≤n ≤97 \, \leq n \, \leq 9
    • Conformity rate observed: fconform≈0.37f_{conform} \approx 0.37 (approximately 37%)

  • Ethical/practical implication: speaking up about taboo topics is essential for client welfare, social justice, and alignment with professional ethics, even when it incurs personal or professional risk.