Can I talk about politics in therapy?

By Missy Larson, MA,  LPCC

In a word, yes.

Americans are in a time of divisive and passionate politics. How a person thinks about politics is frequently part of their identity and helps the therapist understand their client’s worldview. In addition, the American Psychological Association conducted a survey in September 2020 that found that the presidential election was a source of stress for 68 % of Americans. Therapists want to understand the stressors impacting your quality of life. Uncertainty and a lack of ability to change things can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression.

What can you expect from your therapist when discussing politics? Therapists enter the counseling room with a goal of complete acceptance of who you are as the client. Your therapist will likely validate your feelings as they do on any topic you bring to counseling. However, expect your therapist to refrain from getting into a discussion or debate about candidates or policy. Instead, your therapist will get curious about what emotions come up for you when you discuss or read about politics and how these emotions impact your daily life. Ask yourself, “How does this election make me feel?”

When approaching your therapist with political stress, think about how you want to change your life regarding politics.

Do you want to step back and become less invested? Do you want to immerse yourself in causes important to you to allow you to feel less powerless? Do you want to build acceptance around our political climate so you don’t become so “triggered?”

Sometimes, politics can compound trauma that historically marginalized communities have experienced due to government policy. Processing your experience and addressing this trauma may be needed.

You and your therapist can work together to try to mitigate the impact of politics on your mental health. Alleviating political stress may mean limiting news intake, recognizing the bodily response of your body to stress, and engaging in activities or advocacy that align with your values. Engaging in political “news” releases cortisol, a stress hormone. When stress hormones are activated, our prefrontal cortex (our logical reasoning part of the brain)  goes offline, and our amygdala (the brain's emotion center) takes over. Sometimes, our emotional response to news can lead to an addiction to constant news consumption to try to alleviate our anxiety (doom scrolling). The body has mechanisms in place to handle acute and episodic stress. Still, a 24-hour news stream designed to trigger your emotions can lead to more chronic stress, which is not healthy and can generally impact your mental and physical health.

Do therapists care about politics? As much as any other person. But in the counseling room, we are caring about you.

Missy Larson is currently accepting new counseling clients! Click here to read Missy’s bio and schedule a free phone consultation to ensure a great fit.