Is it a problem or a predicament? 

The late philosopher, Abraham Kaplan felt that there was a difference between problems and predicaments.

To philosopher Kaplan a problem as something that has a cause, a reason. There is something that went wrong. A problem can be identified, analyzed, and then fixed or solved. 

In the peer support specialist leadership class we talk about problems and problem solving. You are sent home with a list of problem solving questions that can help you define what the problem is, look at a way to solve it, think about what can be done to change things so they might work better. 

We also try to help you see and understand that some problems are things that someone might not want to solve for some reason (finances-it might cost too much, pride-someone might not want to admit they were wrong, people are comfortable with the way things are, etc).  

Philosopher Kaplan felt that there is such a thing as a predicament. He felt the predicament is something that is permanent; something that there is no solution for and therefore no solution is available when something is a predicament. He felt that the best thing you could do was to cope with a predicament. 

Philosopher Kaplan felt that permanent, inescapable, complicated paradoxical dilemmas exist that can’t be solved but only tolerated. The dilemmas can only be coped with. 

If we as peer specialists believe that some of the pie in the sky problems that we try to solve are predicaments, then we may end up not trying to solve it and buying into the systems thoughts on the way things are. Things like:

People on Social Security just try to scam the system. 

The Mentally Ill don’t know what is good for them. 

Medications are the solution to everything.

Therapy doesn’t help people who have schizophrenia.

The Mentally Ill want to be homeless or they would get a house.

When our top leaders believe that these things are not problems, but predicaments that just have to be dealt with they engage in decision making not problem solving. It is all too often felt that it is something that will be with us always and little headway will be made so why throw money at it. 

When I was a member of a community mental health board, the head psychiatrist led the charge to have the board vote on whether or not we should spend community mental health funds on any kind of bricks and mortar. It was a couple of bad meetings for me. I knew that there was nothing that I could change, but I also knew how important housing was. At that point as a community mental health board member it became a predicament for me. 

It was something that was complicated, a horrendous decision that hurt many, many people needlessly. There was a way to change things, but it was not something I could do. This was a predicament caused by system leaders. 

Where I agree with Philosopher Kaplan that there are both problems and predicaments, I think that when as a society, we decide to think that something is a predicament, we find it much easier to not look at. 

It is after all, a predicament, so it can’t be solved. We can therefore not work on it.