Therapists’ Social Media and Politics

I follow a lot of therapists’ professional pages on social media because they offer a lot of helpful insight. However, I have mixed feelings about their pages because they post a ton of political posts. While a big part of me agrees with their posts, I feel uncomfortable that they use their professional platform to promote it. They argue it is ethical because in the APA code of ethics, it says something about advocacy for social causes and thus have an ethical duty to stand up for certain political views. This gets complicated because politics, social justice, and identity has become very intertwined. I don’t want to dismiss that. However, I think it gets tricky when certain clients may have different beliefs but they may feel hesitant to bring it up with their therapist because their therapist has made it very clear they believe something different. Also, it’s hard when therapists claim certain figures meet criteria for a specific diagnosis when they haven’t even met them. I hope I’m not being too insensitive. It’s hard for me to talk about this because it is a very sensitive subject for people right now, but I am curious to know your feedback if there is a line.

I get the sense that a lot of therapists are keen to help not just their clients, but everyone. They can see and hear through their clients and other sources what is 'wrong' with the world, and how it needs to change to accommodate people's needs.

So if there are political parties that want to put extra funding in to mental health, homelessness, education, social care etc they may advertise it on social media to spread the word that we have a choice and that change is possible.

As with any other business, a T's politics may be a turn off for certain clients, and that's a chance they take when they are public about their opinions. I don't think they have an ethical obligation to stay silent, although I don't think they have an ethical obligation to speak out, either.

I believe there is a rule against "diagnosing" public figures but saying someone "meets the criteria" is a bit different from diagnosing. Plus we see so much of these people in the media sometimes it's clear they do meet some criteria...

Personally I mute people on social media who are constantly reposting political stuff, just in general. Even if I agree with them it gets very repetitive.

I think the Goldwater Rule against diagnosing public figures is only adopted by the American Psychiatric Association.

I would be turned off by any therapist—or any person—who kept pushing their politics or religion in my face. But I’m not forced to look at their Facebook pages. They can do what they want there.

I live in a state where social workers are now being allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ+ clients or clients with disabilities. Any therapist of mine better well be standing up against the political shenanigans like this. These are dangerous times if the people who are supposed to be defending and supporting their clients are allowed legally to not do so. All of my therapists were pretty strongly aligned with my own political, social, and ethical beliefs, so it didn't bother me in the least if and when they spoke out about issues. I wouldn't have stayed with a therapist aligned opposite of my own morality and ethics. I think those in the know, those in the trenches, have to speak up for their own clientele and the issues that affect them because often no one else will.

As far as "diagnosing" public figures goes, I have never had a therapist come out and do that personally, but I'm pretty agnostic about it either way. I don't think they are saying much that any lay person hadn't already deduced on their own.

Unfortunately, those of us in these types of helping professions are often gagged against speaking our minds. It takes a lot of firm tongue biting and sometimes we just reach that tipping point.

(I have a feeling this thread won't make it very long without being closed because it is too political, but it is a good question. Silence can be tacit complicity.)

Texas social workers can turn away LGBTQ clients, new rule says | The Texas Tribune

My T generally does not make his political views public (other than stating the importance of voting). He is fairly open with me about his political views though. Most of our views are very similar. More importantly though he knows that we ca disagree on political matters without it having a negative impact on my therapy. My H has very different political views from mine. Usually we discuss politics only when something about them is bothering me. He has brought it up a very few times because he was upset about something and wanted to let me know about it so that I didn’t assume it was something about me. He is VERY good at not bringing his stuff into clients sessions but I am super sensitive. We learned it works much better for him to just briefly let me know.

I am not on social media, but I don't care what a therapist does outside of the time I am paying them to sit there and pretend to pay attention.

I think this is completely in line with Gilbert's 1980 paper in Women and Psychotherapy (eds. Brodsky & Hare-Mustin): The personal is political.

Of course this does not apply to all modalities, though any feminist/multiculturally informed therapist has the primary element of the theoretical base. (see: Gelso, Nutt Williams, Fretz: Counseling psychology, 2015).

Ooof. That's sketchy. I wouldn't trust a psychologist diagnosing through a 3rd person view.

I have always been able to have political conversations with my therapists. At my appointment last week the subject of politics came up. She made a very generalized statement t about the party I most align with. At that point she did not know how I tend to vote. She immediately said she realized she was being judgemental. It lead to a great discussion how the media only talks about the extreme of both political parties. How most people tend to vote someone the middle. I think we were able to teach each other a bit about politics.

I am very careful who I discuss politics with. I feel this van ne a lot of hate on both sides of the system. I also have snoozed many of my friends on FB because they post nonstop politics. Again, I don't care which party one votes for as long as it is caring and truthful

I would not be able to work with a therapist who had vastly different political views from mine.

My T and I bond over our similar political views. I would be pleased to know if a T had an incompatible world view with mine before choosing with whom to work.

I don't really care what party my T identifies with (I'm pretty sure it's not the same as mine). And I don't care who she votes for. That's not why I am seeing her. If she were to bring it up in session I'd be pretty upset because it has nothing to do with why I am seeing her. As long as she keeps her politics separate from my therapy, we are good.

Me and my T don't live in the USA.

The personal is political to me, and most of my friends who belong in marginalised groups because we literally get affected by what our politicians do. Our basic civil rights are literally up for debate, and I therefore care that my therapist isn't voting for a party that wants to harm me.

I don't know her personal politics for certain, and she doesn't make frequent political posts on her public social media, but she does push for intersectionality, advocates against marginalisation and against discrimination and prejudice etc.

That matters to me because I would find it difficult to work with a T who doesn't believe I deserve the same basic civil rights based on some difference I'm born with.

That doesn't mean we agree on everything politically, but that is usually not because we have wildly different personal values, but differences in methods and ideas. Not her or me thinking the other person is less than.

"We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist."

As for clients with differing beliefs, I have no idea how she'd do. I do trust that she'll see their humanity even if their behaviour might be bigoted. I don't think it's a T's place to change a client's political views or religious beliefs, but behaviour (arising from those views) that harms their interpersonal relationships or sense of self worth might be a target. Big difference from a T who thinks I don't deserve basic civil rights because I'm the wrong type of human.

Eg ethically in some countries (that aren't mine, where its still legal), Ts do not practice conversion therapy because of the documented harms to LGBTQIA people. A LGBTQIA client can of course choose their behaviour but them hating themselves for being LGBTQIA isn't OK.

Same. Mine doesn't share anything about politics on social media (I think the only social media he has is LinkedIn, which isn't really social media in the regular sense). However, he didn't reveal his personal (shared) views to me until long after I'd made mine very clear--and made it clear that it's something I'm passionate about. With the country being so divided right now, it's helped to be able to talk about political things with him--and to not sit there wondering if he had very different views.

He has mentioned before having a couple clients with very different views from him. He said with them, he lets them talk about politics all they want, but doesn't share his and wouldn't engage in debate with them. So if I shared opposing views or never mentioned politics, then I doubt I'd know what his were.


So I could see sharing them on social media being a potential issue, unless the T were advertising themselves in a certain way. Sort of like what QM was mentioning--I know on Psychology Today listings, T's can list things like LGBTQ-allied or similar things. But that's different than social media, where a current client could potentially be surprised by their T's views--and then it could potentially interfere with the therapy.

In light of our country if my therapist supported the other guy based on his actions it would be over.

Point of view of a white Jewish therapist: Moving Parts Psychotherapy