During my recent therapy session, I discovered that my therapist is from Israel and is pro-Israel. She also does not believe that what is happening in Gaza qualifies as genocide, describing the term as “tricky.” She also mentioned that she watches Israeli news daily with her family.

I expressed to her that I see it as a genocide and that her perspective makes me deeply uncomfortable. I told her that I believe all human life is valuable, regardless of nationality or background. She responded that she agrees that all life is valuable especially innocent life and believes everyone deserves basic respect and dignity. In an effort to drive this point across she took a couple minutes to rant about how terrible and wrong drunk driving is. However, given her stance, I struggle to reconcile how much she truly means that, as she appears to support a military campaign that I view as fascist and genocidal against civilians.

Despite this, I don’t want to lose her as my therapist. She is the most skilled and well-trained therapist I’ve worked with, particularly in trauma healing, and I genuinely believe she can help me. Over the past several sessions, she has worked to build my trust and create a space where I feel seen, heard, and comfortable. That has been incredibly meaningful to me. In every other aspect, we get along well—this is the only issue that stands between us.

I don’t know how to process this. When she admitted she was pro-Israel, I nearly had a panic attack. It was incredibly difficult for me to confront her, and I could tell she preferred to avoid the conversation, but I brought it up anyway. She even acknowledged how hard that must have been for me and commended me for standing up for what I believe in.

Now, I find myself grappling with this internal conflict. I want to continue working with her, but I’m struggling with what I now know about her beliefs. I’m not sure how to move forward. What do you think?

Edit:

After reading all the comments and thinking about it, I'm starting to look for a new therapist. It turns out there are other therapists in my area who claim to have similar skill sets. Ill start reaching out to interview them soon and postpone my next session in the meantime. I have absolutely no one in my life to turn to for advice or help with emotional processing so if im in crisis id rather have access to a therapist within a few days than not.

I think my trust with her has been broken and I keep hearing that trust is manadatory in therapy. If Im going to heal the right way I want to feel completely safe with my therapist.

I am not white but all of my clients are. I have noticed they will say things like they find certain Black or Brown (never Asian) people aggressive, loud, strange, confrontational, etc. they’ll use euphemisms for them like “ghetto”. They won’t ever say it, they’ll kinda choke up and beat around the bush until I say “you can say Black” or whatever. Then there’s the sigh of relief/whew.

Most are off put by anything cultural (they have Lunar New Year off and find it freaky/weird - paraphrased). I do try to be relational so they know I’m not judging them and sometimes remind them their sessions are confidential if they’re being a bit cagey. However, the teen blaccents are REALLLY grating on me hardcore especially when they are using AAVE/ebonics incorrectly given their disgust of Blackness but consumption of Black media. How are others handling this professionally, personally, etc?

https://www.madinamerica.com/2018/09/social-justice-really-mean-psychologists/

"According to the authors, psychology, as a field, has aligned itself more closely with some conceptualizations of social justice than others. Psychologists have been criticized for adopting a more “identity politics” approach to social justice in which they reductively attend to issues of identity and recognition while overlooking the intersection of identity with economic inequalities and broader structural concerns. It is not just that the privileging of identity-focused views of social justice obscures economic inequities associated with capitalism, but, as Thrift and Sugarman emphasize, it takes a complicit stance that allows for the perpetuation of these injustices. In this sense, psychologists have predominantly aligned with a reductive approach to social justice and in doing so have undermined their stated mission.

Claiming expertise in defining and treating psychological problems, the field of psychology has considerable influence on the use and understanding of social justice. As a result, “confusion over the meaning of social justice has implications for psychologists interested in pursuing this aim, but also has broader political, social, and economic consequences,” Thrift and Sugarman argue. When psychologists promote the idea that psychological suffering is a state resolvable exclusively through individual interventions, such as psychotherapy, behavior changes, or drug treatments, structural issues can be ignored and perpetuated."

Thought some folks here might be interested. Sugarman also has a great article explaining neoliberalism in psychology that I'm actually gonna be teaching today, called Neoliberalism and Psychological Ethics.

Given the measure of this week, anyone who even clicks on this to read is brave, so thanks. o7

I'm a trans woman, USA/Minnesota, 45, seeking asylum out of the country for reasons I think obvious. I'm looking for advice on how to confront a gay man who's relatively new to social work and I suspect quite naive given what just happened. He is a mandatory reporter, and I shared my fear, which is shared by my whole community to varying degrees, that I am about to die.

We've discussed the many, many, things that I have tried to get out of the situation I'm in -- it's not a lack of effort keeping me from safety, it's the system. We're both in the community, and frankly I think he should have known better than to make a report to the police on inauguration day, for the middle of the night. The police (at least here) won't name the reporting party, however they referenced a social worker, and an e-mail, as the reason for their visit for showing up to take me in for 'medical observation'. That uniquely identifies the reporting party to me (I'm 80% confident - there's a lot of haters with access to my medical records).

There isn't any immediate fallout from the interaction; I asserted my right not to speak to them, and they were forced to leave empty handed. Long term, the person sheltering me may incur a few grand of financial liability due to 'code enforcement' -- I'm currently in a garage within which I've erected a temporary tent structure. He has been previously instructed not to let the police in for this reason, so that's on him when he gets the bill, I'm not assigning blame to the social worker for that. And to be clear: I've been state-certified as disabled for two years now, but this is the housing I can get with that certification. The state is entirely responsible for all of this, in my not at all humble opinion.

The conflict here is between community values and awareness, and his duty to the state. I know which one he picked. We have to talk about this. On its face, I think it's possible to restore trust and be a 'learning opportunity'. However, I only see one way to do that and it's to ask him to choose which one matters more: His duty to the state, or his duty to his community.

In my culture at least, we don't assign blame, we try to move forward together. I don't demand apologies or confessions, I just try to seek consensus. I find myself wishing for nuance in an atmosphere dominated by black and white thinking figurative and literal. I don't believe his character is bad, I just think that he, like most cis white men, severely underestimated the size of the problem. I don't know where the common ground is for us, and if I ignore what happened entirely, I still don't know. He didn't sign up for this, anymore than I did.

I have a very comfortable job as a software engineer but I feel called to be a psychotherapist. But I have so much fear around the pay, the emotional toll and not being able to help clients. Oh, and the fear of being replaced by AI, as silly as that may sound.

I’d love to hear your experiences as therapists, whether it’s fulfilling enough to overlook the difficulties that come with the job, or if it’s better to stay in my cushy job and find a way to help others that won’t suck me dry.

Thanks in advance.

Last year was a bad year for me. I started to seeing a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist who has been great. I am pondering change careers to psychotherapy. What online reputable programs are there that can get me there within a couple of years or is that too lofty?

—

Adding more info: From USA | Bachelors in Computer Science | Software Engineer/Product Manager

¡Hi! I recently ended reading Michel Foucault's "History of madness" and I was wondering if any of you know some good analysis of this work done by psychologists or psychiatrists, be it in favor or against. I'm very interested in the reaction that this book has provoked in the academical circles of psychology. Thanks!

Register here.

February 13, 2024 // 6.00 PM GMT // Free, Microsoft Teams

A dialogic seminar and open forum on the intersection of capital, anti-capitalism and psychotherapy. Joining us is Ian Parker, co-director (with Erica Burman) of the Discourse Unit and author of many books on discursive analysis, critical psychology, and psychoanalysis, including Radical Psychoanalysis and Anti-Capitalist Action (2022) and Psychoanalysis and Revolution: Critical Psychology for Liberation Movements (2021) - both of which are provided for free below.

The event will consist of two portions: one hour of interview with Ian, followed by one hour of open discussion for all attendees. Anyone is welcome, within and without the field of "mental health work".

All our events are free and open-access. You can follow us on Instagram @liberatementalhealth or via our newsletter for future events and projects.

In an article published in 1990 in The Journal of Mind and Behavior by the psychologist, George Albee, he argued persuasively that psychotherapy did not provide the care needed for most of the problems afflicting those this service, particularly the poor and powerless. The reason given for this failure was the limited scope and impact of psychotherapy as an individual-centered treatment. Instead, decreasing the incidence of these problems requires large scale political and economic changes aimed at injustice, powerlessness, and oppression. In particular, Albee observed the adverse effects of social inequalities related to a philosophy of social Darwinism that fostered competition, exploitation of labor, and dehumanization. Psychotherapy deals after-the-face with the impacts of these larger social problems, but treating the victims does nothing to address the underlying causes. Albee also correctly observed resistance among psychologists to challenge the dominant paradigm due to their having a major stake in defending and upholding the status quo. In light of his critique, he proposed the need for primary prevention based in political and social action.

Looking back, Albee’s critique raised an early and much needed alarm regarding the wide-ranging toxic impacts of unchecked capitalism. Sadly, it has gone largely unheeded. Indeed, conditions rooted in an essentially death-affirming neoliberal ideology have only grown worse. The magnitude of inequality globally has grown. There is a steadily increasing incidence of disasters caused by climate change and a disturbing rise in authoritarian regimes that disregard fundamental human rights. These negative events have not gone unnoticed in some quarters of psychology. There have been increased calls for a commitment to social justice and the need to seriously re-think the assumptions and values of psychological science and practice firmly rooted in neoliberal ideology. Among these critics are individuals who describe themselves as critical psychologists.

However, one such critical psychologist, Ian Parker, in an article “Critical Psychology and Revolutionary Marxism,” poses a particularly important +question and challenge. Do critical psychologists adopt a truly radical stance rooted in elements of Marxist analysis in their critique of neoliberalism? Are they committed to overthrowing capitalist society, recognizing it as the true cause of human suffering? Parker asserts that some calling themselves critical psychologists have succumbed to what he calls “ideological recuperation” which is a process in which radical ideas become neutralized and absorbed by the hegemonic ideology. As a result, the criticisms and alternatives advocated by critical psychologists may actually legitimize, reproduce, and support the practices of capitalist production and consumption. For example, they may adopt the corporate expectations that often predominate in higher education institutions in order to advance their careers. They may contort critical psychology in a novel market, a concession to commodification. They may be co-opted by governmental agencies or apparatuses whose true purpose is to weaken or defeat collective action. Or the objects of their criticism may be focused on the mechanistic and positivist assumptions of mainstream psychology, but give no voice to the imperative of political and economic change.

As the Marxist sociologist, Bruce Cohen, asserts, human suffering must be understood as the consequence of the oppressive practices and alienating conditions created by capitalism. In addition, the profit-based nature of the mental health system and the hegemonic power of neoliberalism must be dismantled. Anything less will render the commitment of critical psychology to social justice impotent and meaningless. Parker believes that psychotherapy has the potential to be a force to challenge capitalism and to provide individuals with the resolve and strength to overcome it. However, this requires that psychotherapy be linked to collective action in the form of socio-political struggle. Marxism provides a necessary foundation for truly radical change.

Why aren’t more people writing/speaking up about this when it happens somewhat often?

Please check out my article of you haven’t already on therapists who pathologize clients, and brand them with certain personality disorders, including those clients who are autistic/neurodivergent (aka “if you cry too much or meltdown surely you must be a borderline.. out ya go!”).

Dear Therapists: This Is What BPD Stigma Looks Like https://medium.com/@justlynn2021/dear-therapists-this-is-what-bpd-stigma-looks-like-575d16128fb7

(3 min read)

Hi everyone. Not immediately related to leftism but I appreciate the critical thinkers on here and how people can see the flaws in purely behavioral approaches. Looking for some perspectives on DBT. I've started doing a training on DBT (on PESI, with Lane Pederson) as it is so popular and seems to have some useful practical elements to it. I've gotten through the introduction and theory part before the skills training begins, and so far my main thought has been "is this it?!" One of the foundational aspects that I've been troubled by is the part of DBT's biosocial theory that states "some people are just born more sensitive to emotional stimuli than others". Pederson says that while trauma and environment might play a role, DBT "assumes" that the cause of behaviours is mostly biological and genetic. For a type of therapy that prides itself on being evidence based I find this very contradictory - when we see clients and hear their stories we KNOW that many have experienced trauma, marginalization, precarity etc. But so far, no gene or specific biological cause for behaviours often lumped together as BPD have been discovered. So why does DBT downplay what we already know based on what the client has told us in favour of some vague references to biology?

Another comment by Pederson was "Of course, no one wakes up in the morning thinking 'how am I going to fuck my life up today/how can I alienate my friends today' ". I don't think this is true. I have had both clients and friends state that in periods of crisis they have experienced self destructive impulses that manifest this way. I see this as an outcome of trauma and internalized shame. I'm surprised that as an experienced therapist he would not have recognised this.

Anyway, what I've heard before the skills training has even started has reduced DBT's credibility for me. Would love to hear some other thoughts.

Hi guys, I’m looking for a job in the field but having trouble finding something that doesn’t require more certifications or schooling. I am taking some time to decide in what direction I would like to continue (considering social work, clinical, neuroscience) before starting my master’s. I was considering ABA/RBT but I’ve read that it is problematic, does anyone have any experience with this?

hi all! im gonna start doing therapy soon at my internship and im looking for a variety of interventions from a leftist perspective. im currently doing school-based therapy at a high school and most students are coming in with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, self harm behaviors, anger/irritability, and relationship/communication issues. literally anything will be helpful, even if it doesn't exactly relate to the topics i mentioned. im mostly being taught cbt through my master's program, which im not the biggest fan of, so it feels like im learning how to do therapy from scratch.

Hi everybody!

I recently published an article on History and class consciousness that you may be interested in:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03017605.2024.2416746

This article examines Lukács’s theorisation of the unconscious—not as a libidinal or instinctual force, but as an epistemic and automatising mechanism that influences agents’ actions. The study first addresses the need for Marxism to engage with the concept of the unconscious, drawing parallels with the psychoanalytic tradition. It then considers Lukács’s conception of the historicity of consciousness and the process of reification that creates unconscious epistemic barriers. The paper further explores the potential of the oppressed class to overcome these barriers, and highlights strategies for consciousness-raising and transcending the unconscious in Lukács’s later works. By providing a nuanced analysis of the intersection between Marxism and the unconscious, this article offers new insights into how unconscious processes affect agency and consciousness within a historical and social framework.

I am a disillusioned student working toward a therapy credential. I originally got into the field to help people struggling with systemic abuse and survivors of therapy abuse. My target populations included work with the homeless, undiagnosed/untreated chronic illnesses, and people with SPMI who had bad previous experiences with the mental health system. I was naive prior to coming to therapy school, and now I find myself waking up to some hard truths. I am convinced that the culture of my program - and of therapy in general - is broken and harmful. I'm not sure whether there is still worthwhile work to be done here.

I know that these doubts are common here. What I'm wondering is what lies on the other side. For those who contemplated leaving the field, either during or following your schooling: what decision did you make? What do you do now? Is anyone glad they stayed?

I am an undergraduate student in human development and family science and I want to become a therapist. My goal is to work as an LPC for chronically ill/ neurodivergent clients. I am disabled myself and feel very passionate about advocacy for these clients. However, between the high cost of getting a masters and the low pay of being an associate therapist scares me like crazy. Not to mention the fact that it's already hard to find a job while having cerebral palsy (moderate). How did you survive? Any advice for me?

Hello all

So I am an American former counseling student who left a master’s program years ago because I was underwhelmed by the academics, and I also discovered that I couldn’t face providing therapy to clients everyday for the long haul. I’ve spent my last few years traveling around the world with my job, and psychology has always been in the back of my mind. But like most of you I have been moved by people like Fanon, Martin-Baro, Vygotsky, and other writers who present anti-capitalist , anti-imperialist, Marxist, feminist, and third world/global south perspectives on institutional psychology (especially for Africa and the African diaspora generally, for personal reasons). 

I’ve been really curious about doing graduate work that involves critical, community, and/or theoretical psych study, and I want  to engage with and do work in this field and continue to study in these  these perspectives, but I cannot figure out for the life of me where I can do some WORK if I can’t bring myself to provide psychotherapy long term.

What kind of work does everyone do? Is everyone a practicing therapist? Where else have your academic careers, informed by these fields of study, supported work towards substantive change that’s improved people’s lives and seeks justice In the field of psychology itself, politically, materially, economically, maybe in writing or education? Policy? Governance? I think I could be convinced to practice therapy, but I think it would have to be a special circumstance. I would gladly welcome any and all perspectives.

If you’ve read all the way through, thank you so much. Blessings to all. And happy new year :)

Are there any networks or groups besides this sub or in person meet ups for leftist therapists/psychologists? Would love to connect with some.

For further clarification, how would you approach such an individual who genuinely believed they had nothing left to lose, and was fully and completely against the United States' capitalism, the greed, the CEOs, the corruption of politicians, the police who brutalize and traumatize the minorities and poor and humans alike? If this patient walked into your practice one day what would you say to them? Would you tell them not to do it? Would you try to suggest to them other ways of channeling their anger and hatred and rage towards those who practice injustice against the people? Would you simply not offer any service?

...would you report to the authorities for this?

Also because I know this might be asked no I'm not asking about this for myself (although if I had stayed in the United States any longer than I had to I won't deny doing what Luigi did). I left the United States, thank God. This question came to my mind, and it made me realize how...alienating and alone the working class is in the United States as a whole.

It also reminded me how in therapy I could never bring this up, because "CBT is supposed to address cognitive distortions, and claiming that I am being fucked over by a capitalistic, social darwinist, oligarchical country is clearly distortions, this country si what you make of it 😜". Hated CBT so much as a person with CPTSD.

Hello! I would like to become a gender therapist. I’m not sure where to start and I thought you guys could maybe recommend me some names or books? I believe reading could help me make a more informed decision training-wise.

I am interested in non-pathologising and intersectional ( is this how you spell it in English ? I’m sorry I’m not a native speaker ) approach.

Thank you in advance

Hello, I am in grad school for marriage and family therapy and art therapy. I'm starting my first practicum next month at a state hospital, and I am trying to gather my thoughts and emotions surrounding involuntary treatment.

Does anyone have resources, writings, even your own thoughts/perspective on involuntary treatment. Both as a concept, in practice, and outcomes? Then taking it a step further, how I can best serve the groups and individuals I will be working with? (This is a state hospital for both forensic patients and adults under a conservatorship. Most patients are having acute psychiatric problems like psychosis, and many are diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar.)

Thank you!

Comrades and Friends,

I am excited to announce an AMA for the forthcoming publication of the edited collection, The Revolutionary Psychologist’s Guide to Radical Therapy. Due sometime in late 2025, the book features 16 chapters by 14 contributors, delving into the transformative possibilities of therapy grounded in anti-capitalist and liberation frameworks. Aimed primarily at students and practitioners, we hope the book will also resonate with a broader audience, sparking new conversations about mental health—especially among therapy seekers and activists.

Join us for a Reddit AMA on Monday Jan 6th at 6 PM CST where—Frank Gruba-McCallister and I (Jon Hook)—will discuss the book’s key ideas and the real-world implications of radical therapy in practice.

The book is structured around four themes: Theory, which lays a foundation of anti-capitalist and liberation-focused psychology; Practice, which provides actionable tools and techniques for radical therapy as a movement; Context, which explores the historical, political, and systemic forces shaping mental health of specific populations; and Sublation, which invites readers to consider the role of death, spirituality, and transcendence in radical politics.

Like any first effort, it has its limitations, but with sufficient engagement, we hope future editions will refine and expand on this foundation. More than a book, we aim for it to act as a rallying point—a flag for a counter-hegemonic movement challenging the dominance of liberal psychology.

To further this vision, we plan to launch an initiative in 2025 called Counterpsych. This will begin as a newsletter and podcast aimed at creating praxis by and for radical psyworkers. Over time, we hope it will evolve into a collaborative working group where psyworkers and activists can strategize and organize together. We invite you to join our mailing list if you’re interested. When signing up, we ask you to share your positionality relative to psychology and radicalism to help us shape programming that resonates with the community’s needs. We’ll also send you ping at your shared email when the book is due to release using the email you provide.

Looking forward to hearing from you all,

Jon (counterspsych) and Frank (sea-examination9825).

Hello - I will be hosting this online, free seminar in January alongside Maria Nichterlein, co-author of Deleuze and Psychology. You can find the details below.

DIFFERENCE: Gilles Deleuze, Towards Different Psychologies, Towards a Psychology of Difference

January 12 // 19:30-21:30 GMT // Free

Register here.

Hosted by Liberate Mental Health - read more about our collective, and future events, here.

Join us for a dialogic seminar and open forum with Maria Nichterlein, co-author (among many things) of Deleuze and Psychology: Philosophical Provocations to Psychological Practices. Maria's work draws on the work of Gilles Deleuze to challenge many of the primary assumptions of psychology and psychotherapy - and to construct radically different ways of thinking and working.

• How can we strategically bring about truly different psychologies and psychotherapies?
• How do our current psychological and psychotherapeutic systems restrict and restrain our ways of thinking about each other, and the world?
• How can we challenge despotic tendencies within ourselves and our work - the "little Man within"?
• How can we better center our work on the embracing of difference - rather than the erasure of it?

The event will consist of one hour of interview with Maria, then one hour of open discussion for all attendees. We've gathered several pieces of material to engage with beforehand - including an essay and chapter from her and John's book. We'd encourage you to read them in the weeks leading up to the event. Materials can be found in the event page.

https://preview.redd.it/pubgdhranl7e1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=e081642e82a852f19fbee3bcf876df8cb8677c90

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on a career path that aligns with my leftist values, particularly in the realm of mental health. I’m deeply interested in psychology, therapy, and the healing journey, but I’m struggling to figure out how to channel this passion into a career that truly helps people without perpetuating systems I oppose.

I believe capitalism has a profound impact on mental health, with material conditions often at the root of why so many people struggle. For me, therapy shouldn’t just be about individual coping strategies but should also address the societal forces contributing to mental illness. Unfortunately, it feels like the mainstream mental health field frequently sidesteps these systemic issues. I often find that therapy reinforces capitalist norms, rarely engaging with important societal factors that profoundly affect mental wellbeing.

Are there fields of study or specialisations in psychology that explore the intersection of mental health and material conditions? Are there alternative models of therapy or mental health work (e.g. community based approaches) that prioritise accessibility and systemic change? What roles in the mental health field could allow me to uphold my values while genuinely helping people, without simply reproducing capitalist structures?

I’ve done a lot of research, but I often feel deflated and lost when it comes to finding a meaningful path forward. I want to be “on the ground,” helping the most vulnerable people, as that seems to be the most beneficial approach. However, I feel conflicted about pursuing a career as a therapist, knowing that therapy is often accessible only to those who can afford it. Even working for a charity, which seems like a more ethical option, leaves me with a sense of guilt, like I’m not doing enough unless I’m addressing the root causes of suffering on a fundamental level.

Has anyone here navigated similar questions or found a way to approach a career in mental health that centres collective healing and structural awareness? I’d really appreciate your insights or advice.

Thanks in advance!