Should You Ask Your Therapist About Their Politics?
Can you ask your therapist who they voted for?
Therapy is inherently political. You deserve to know who believes in you. You deserve to know who supports and advocates for you. You have a right to know who believes in your existence.
There is research that supports that the therapeutic alliance benefits when political beliefs are shared and align.
In a recent Substack post, I shared two post-2016 election surveys that support the increasing discussions about politics in therapy from the @apa_org —showing two thirds of therapists acknowledging these discussions in practice.
For therapy to work, we need to show up fully as our authentic selves. We can’t do that if we don’t feel it’s a safe space to do so—this is what many of us are contending with now.
While I 100% support and encourage you to ask your therapist about their political positions, I also ask that you be prepared for a different answer than you’re hoping for.
Many therapeutic relationships take so much time and effort to build. Just as many of our friendships and familial relationships have been dismantled this week, these therapeutic relationships are not exempt.
It’s a really trying time for hope, but I will say I AM hopeful and encouraged by the very public posts I’ve seen from mental health professionals this week.
You deserve to be surrounded by people and communities who support you— including your therapist.