Turbulent Times Inside and Outside the Consulting Room: The Politics of Polarization and Hate and the Illusion of the Therapist’s Freedom from Impingement

Abstract

Today’s toxic political climate has intruded into the therapeutic space. Both therapists and clients wonder about whether politics is an appropriate subject for therapy. Stronger treatment alliances were noted when clients perceived political similarity with their therapists. Inside the consulting room, polarizing political splits can occur and lead to impasses and alliance ruptures that can be difficult to bridge. Therapists, like their clients, can become overwhelmed, exhausted, and numb as they continue to listen, support, and contain political shock waves day after day. The ability to maintain empathy, think analytically and stay alert for enactments can be difficult to sustain when politics enters the room. Various politically based countertransference reactions are addressed, and self-care and connection rather than retreat through detachment or dissociation is the desired goal.