Our society is highly polarized by political and cultural issues. This touches all of us on some level and has the potential to impact therapy. How therapists work with political issues is not only important for their clients’ trust and sense of safety, but also may be useful, or not, for the therapy process. In order to contribute to a discussion about this topic, and address concerns of potential clients, I’d like to share how I deal with politics in my therapy practice.
As a therapist, my clients’ well-being and psychological growth is my priority. Therefore, I maintain appropriate therapeutic boundaries and respect my clients’ autonomy by not sharing my own political views, unless it serves a clear therapeutic purpose to do so. I believe that therapy should provide a safe space for clients to share their authentic thoughts and feelings with the expectation of receiving empathetic understanding. It is not OK for a therapist to be judgemental or discriminatory against clients who hold differing political views, or to use their position to promote a political agenda.
Good therapy encourages clients to look inwards and understand themselves better through inquiry into the meaning of their feelings and opinions. No matter what someone’s political perspective is, if they are willing to explore their underlying feelings and motivations, they will probably gain new insight into themselves. Even when circumstances in society are very challenging, therapy offers a chance to explore our inner experience, so that we can face the external situation with maximal clarity and self-awareness.
In order for therapists to maintain professionalism and focus when politics is discussed, they need to have awareness about their own emotional reactivity. They have a responsibility to understand how their feelings about politics, such as their own righteousness, outrage, or fear, might impact their judgment. It is also helpful for therapists to avoid limiting themselves to an “information bubble,” in which they are only exposed to people and news sources which reinforce their existing views, making it harder to understand those who think differently, or have different experience.
Therapists tend to be passionate about helping others, which often coincides with having strong political views. However, they must avoid allowing their own feelings to interfere with their clinical judgment. If a therapist decides to share their own perspective with a client, it has to be done thoughtfully, in line with the purpose of the counseling relationship, because they see a potential therapeutic benefit for the client, not for their own needs.
