WHISTLEBLOWERS OFTEN FIND themselves “deeply disturbed and disillusioned” after reporting wrongdoing, a specialist psychologist working in the area has said.
London-based Dr David Morgan is leading Ireland’s first free specialist psychological support service for whistleblowers and their family members.
Transparency International Ireland (TII) hopes the service, which is supported with funding from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, will help alleviate the stress borne by people who highlight wrongdoing, noting that the psychological impact of whistleblowing can have a huge impact and result in symptoms resembling post- traumatic stress disorder.
TI Ireland have designed the Psychological Support Service in collaboration with Dr David Morgan, a British-based consultant psychotherapist who has extensive experience of working with whistleblowers in the UK.
Clients will be able to access five free one-to-one sessions with a qualified therapist and thereafter avail of group therapy where appropriate.
A panel of qualified psychologists and psychotherapists has been appointed to work under the supervision of Dr Morgan. Clients will be able to choose from the list of therapists on the panel.
Speaking to The Journal, Morgan explained how whistleblowers often find themselves “deeply disturbed and disillusioned” after reporting wrongdoing.
“Because they are often quite moral people they expect the rest of the world to be the same way and it’s deeply disturbing for them when they discover that’s not what after happening.
Instead, they can wind up feeling like they’re “they’re standing all alone” in a battle for justice.
“There can be massive stuff projected onto them by the organisation [which they work for] to try prove their liars, that they’re mad. Part of my work is trying to prevent what’s projected at them and reverse that.”
As for where he tends to get his clients from, Morgan has found “banking is huge” for producing whistleblowers, as are professions dealing with the law.
“Industry is another. I had man working for a industry that constructs [certain] vehicles but there was substandard metal in the vehicle. What happened to him was horrific; he lost his job, his union didn’t want to know, his MP didn’t want to know,” Morgan said.
“If you take a market driven economy, you’ll see lots of people who are not happy at how their industry is changing. I see with the National Health Service that it’s being turned into an industry which in turn means people are going to speak out what they’re seeing.”
Morgan decided to start supporting whistleblowers after working with the late investigative journalist Gavin MacFadyen, who previously made documentaries for ITV’s well-regarded World in Action series and was later a director of WikiLeaks.
He has found many people, once they’ve received the likely backlash that follows blowing the whistle, rarely recover.
“They’re heroic people on one level but the disillusionment is a lot to take. If they were already suffering from depression or had problems in their marriage, this will only exacerbate it.
“There are a ways of managing this. You need then make sure they develop themselves rather than become victims and turn a bad experience into something good and do something further.”
This can be turning their expertise into a force for good in the field they work in, as Morgan points to a whistleblower on weapons dealing within a foreign military force who later turned towards education in the sector.
On whether he may have any tips for whistleblowers, he urges them to think strategically rather than outing themselves too soon.
“The first rule is, step outside and get a job elsewhere – don’t do it in the organisation you’re in. Don’t do until you’ve got that security because it will leave you very vulnerable.
“I’ve had clients who tell me the situation they’re facing and how I guide myself is if I feel frightened, I will tell them ‘For god’s sake, it’s too dangerous’, or I’ll tell them to do it confidentially. They might still be able to do it strategically.”
For more information on the support service see here.
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