Your True Canvas Can’t Thrive Without Psychological Safety
I learned about psychological safety, or more accurately, the lack of it, in multiple work settings. What’s most unsettling is that these experiences happened within mental health settings—spaces that, ironically, should have been the most attuned to human well-being.
The pattern was consistent. And it always began the same way—with a quiet inner whisper:
Something doesn’t feel right.
Is it safe to ask this question?
Can I trust anyone here with the truth?
Those questions became my early warning signs—not just of dysfunction, but of environments where psychological safety was quietly eroding, or perhaps had never been established in the first place.
There are countless books, articles, frameworks on this topic. And yet… so many workplaces continue to struggle. In my own work— formerly as a therapist and now as a coach—I’ve heard story after story. Some are heartbreaking. Some are infuriating.
At times, even listening to those stories has stirred something in me. Old wounds. Echoes of my own experiences in environments that were far from safe.
Let’s Revisit the Core
Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.”
This kind of safety allows for:
Interpersonal risk-taking — “I made a mistake.”
Learning and innovation — “What can we learn from this?”
Vulnerability — “I’m confused or overwhelmed right now.”
And Timothy Clark’s model expands this into four progressive stages:
Inclusion Safety – You belong. Your identity is valued.
Learner Safety – You can ask questions and grow.
Contributor Safety – You’re trusted to make a meaningful impact.
Challenger Safety – You’re encouraged to speak up and challenge the status quo.
It’s a solid framework. But what does it feel like—not just in theory, but in your body, mind, heart, and soul?
The Lived Experience
Psychological safety rarely disappears with a bang—it fades quietly. There are no neon signs, no loud declarations. Rarely does one ever hear, “You can’t be yourself here,” but the silence says it all.
Sometimes, it arrives like a fog—something vague, ambiguous. And then it expands, settling into your daily workplace rhythms:
It looks like over-preparing for meetings, trying to strategize for every possible scenario that might pop up while also drafting your defense statements.
It sounds like the howling wind of “you’re not good enough.”
It feels like tension in your chest.
I feels like you’re shrinking in the corner of the conference room.
It deceives you into silence and apathy.
It manifests as burnout, disconnection, imposter syndrome, and a deep sense of loss.
It sends the message that no matter how thoughtful your questions are or how well-intentioned your curiosity may be, speaking up will somehow be used against you.
It erodes your sense of accomplishment—diminishing a year’s worth of meaningful, high-impact work—only to be met with a performance review that suggests you should speak less, stay in line, and not rock the boat.
And when all of this sets in, your true self—your canvas—gets muted, neglected, abandoned, forgotten.
That true canvas is your most vibrant, creative, intelligent, fierce, and courageous self. However, without psychological safety, that self doesn’t disappear, but it can’t fully emerge. It can’t thrive. It is stifled. Boxed away.
So What’s the Remedy?
There is no single fix. But there are starting points:
Trust your intuition. If something feels off, it likely is.
You are not alone. So many people have lived this and why we keep talking about this.
You’re not imagining it. Psychological unsafety is real—and it leaves real marks.
Talk to someone…options include
A mentor to offer perspective.
A friend to witness your truth.
A coach to help you rebuild trust in your voice.
A therapist to support deeper healing.
Depending on the depth of harm experienced, one of the above may be enough—or it may take all of them to begin the path toward healing. Begin somewhere…
Questions for You:
What does psychological safety mean to you?
How do you notice when it's being challenged or eroded?
Where in your body do you feel that erosion?
What stories does your inner voice begin to tell you in those moments?
What’s the first step you need to take to acknowledge and process your experience in an environment that lacked psychological safety?
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