Conducting psychotherapy in the Trump era: Therapists' perspectives on political self-disclosure, the therapeutic alliance, and politics in the therapy room.

Overview

OBJECTIVE: To examine therapists' perspectives on political self-disclosure, perceived shared values with patients, and the therapeutic alliance. METHOD: Therapists from all US states completed a structured survey (N = 268; 62% Democrats; 7% Republicans; 23% independents; 8% others). RESULTS: Most therapists (87%) reported they discussed politics in-session; 63% reported political self-disclosure (21% explicit; 42% implicit). Therapists who perceived political similarity with most patients were more likely to report political discussions and self-disclosure. Therapists who reported shared political views with a higher percentage of patients, and those who explicitly disclosed, also reported stronger alliances. Clinton supporters reported significant observed preelection-postelection increases in political discussions, increases in patients' expression of negative emotions, and decreases in positive emotions. Trump supporters reported the opposite phenomenon. CONCLUSIONS: Politics play an important role in therapeutic processes as in-session political discussions are common and perceived political similarity may affect decisions to self-disclose and alliance quality.