Why Therapy Is Political — But Not the Way You Think
Holding Belief Without Coercion
“Therapy is political.”
You may have heard this phrase — and felt a reaction.
Maybe it made you pause. Maybe it made you feel seen.
Maybe it made you flinch.
It’s true. And it’s more complicated than it sounds.
Let’s examine a more nuanced perspective:
What does “therapy is political” actually mean — and what doesn’t it mean?
Therapy Is Political
Therapy is political because people don’t exist in a vacuum. What happens in the world — policies, systems, cultural narratives — affects them. These forces shape mental health in real, tangible ways. As therapists, we must acknowledge that.
We cannot ignore systemic oppression: racism, transphobia, poverty, ableism — the list, unfortunately, goes on. Therapy that fails to name these realities risks leaving clients with the belief that they are the problem for not fitting into a world that was never built with them in mind. That isn’t therapeutic. It’s shaming. And shame, untreated, deepens mental health struggles.
Advocacy and cultural awareness aren’t just ideals — they’re ethical responsibilities. A therapist who works with marginalized populations must understand the systems that harm them. This might include doing your own research, voting with your clients’ realities in mind, and supporting policies or leaders who reflect your values of care and equity.
And perhaps most critically, therapy must be a place where clients don’t have to teach their therapist what oppression is — but where they can explore how it’s impacted them, emotionally and psychologically. They deserve that space.
What Therapy Isn’t
Therapy is not ideological re-education.
Yes, your beliefs might change in therapy — but not because your therapist is trying to change them.
Therapy is a mirror, not a megaphone. It holds up your beliefs — inherited or developed — and invites you to examine them. It gives you space to ask:
Does this still fit?
Where did this come from?
Who does this belief serve — and at what cost?
Your therapist might explore with you how your beliefs affect your relationships, your emotional wellbeing, or your ability to move through the world — but this is done without agenda. Not to make you more (or less) progressive. Not to win an argument. But to give you space to look, without flinching.
That’s not coercion. That’s care.
What Therapy Offers
All of us build belief systems to make sense of the world. But without reflection, those systems can become rigid — more about protection than truth. Sometimes our most deeply held views are actually defenses: shields around unresolved pain, shame, or fear.
Therapy offers the space to pause. To ask:
What shaped me? What do I still want to carry? What can I finally put down?
It is a place of insight before action.
Reflection before change.
When we say “therapy is political,” we are not vilifying a side.
We are naming the real, measurable impact of political life on the human nervous system, on relationships, and on identity.
And in a world where people are increasingly punished for questioning — where reflection is often replaced by outrage — therapy might be one of the last places you can be uncertain without being exiled.
Real change doesn’t come from shame. It comes from reflection.
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