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May 12, 2014, 11:08 AM
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Member Since: May 2013
Location: Canada
Posts: 684
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This blog post by a therapist reminds me of a topic that we've kicked around on these forums.
Link: When You and Your Psychotherapy Client Have Opposing Political Views
Excerpts:
Nancy and I occupy different ends of the political spectrum. It is interesting to me that I can work comfortably with clients who are different from me in very many ways, yet the issue of political ideology is one that I have frequently found internally troublesome. Nancy hates Obama. She listens to conservative talk radio. She makes racist comments and I squirm in my chair, miserably caught between my values as a human and my experience of what is effective in a therapist. When she launches into a political rant, which is not uncommon in spite of my best efforts, I find myself backing up so far I could tip myself right out my window. I feel pissed off, defensive, and, weirdly, a little afraid.
. . .she is both utterly powerless and omnipotent. At a slightly different angle, her internal world . . . is peopled with victims, perpetrators, and passive observers.
. . .I think about all these things, and more, and these thoughts provide me with a little distance, a little room to process my own uncomfortable feelings, a space from which to offer observations, and, on good days, genuine empathy.
. . .Nancy believes I am naïve about the nature of evil.
. . .She hits a nerve with her accusations. It is true that I am uncomfortable with aggression and confrontation.
. . .The problem between us is not new . . . Our worldviews are so wildly different that just expressing our perspectives feels like a fundamental and dangerous challenge to our disparate values and perceptions of reality.
. . .Though it is a trial, I do not defend Obama or taxes or affirmative action or gun control or “socialist” medicine to her. . . .there is no therapeutic gain to be had. Sometimes we are invigorated and challenged by our dialogue.
This seems like a challenging relationship. I don't know that my therapist is this concerned with politics that she would feel this challenged by a client's views.
What do you think?
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