Global Issues & Political Polarization
The fallout of political division, global crises, and societal turmoil continues to permeate the therapy room. Many clients arrive carrying well-founded anxieties about climate change, war, economic instability, and deepening polarization that strains central relationships. As therapists, we must help clients process these collective stressors while also navigating our own reactions and maintaining therapeutic neutrality. These pieces offer honest, nuanced perspectives on charged topics ranging from political polarization and conspiracy theories to gun violence and cross-cultural divides. Learn from Esther Perel, Terry Real, Bill Doherty, and others about holding space amid societal fracture.
The current economic crisis may be no more than a rather large bump in the golden road of endlessly self-renewing American prosperity. Still, it's hard not to... Read more
Robert Putnam documents the myriad psychological, health, and political consequences of the ever-growing disparities between rich and poor in America today. Read more
Fifteen years ago, psychotherapist Jeffrey Kottler never imagined he’d be stuffing nine duffel bags full of antibiotics and suture kits for a return trip to... Read more
Throughout the fall, news about the landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA), designed to extend healthcare coverage to millions of the country’s currently... Read more
Social psychologist Jonathon Haidt offers a perspective on why we vote the way we do that you’re unlikely to have read about in the deluge of mainstream... Read more
In a world where differences between people have become increasingly demonized, more than ever, the therapist's job is to help people expand their circle of... Read more
Bestselling author and retired psychotherapist Mary Pipher makes a case for therapists’ having the know-how to become effective social activists---and for... Read more
- Mental health systems under stress - The timing of trauma treatment - The revolt against DSM-5 Read more
The work of linguist George Lakoff on the psychology of political rhetoric has become must reading for anyone who wants to understand how candidates get... Read more
Our collective survival depends on a shift in our most basic assumptions and perceptions, one that'll drive changes in commerce and industry, as well as in our... Read more
Too much is at stake these days for us to take refuge in our practices after the election. In such challenging times, therapists need to create for themselves... Read more
A new generation of filmmakers is taking us beyond the Americocentric world of mainstream cinema. Read more
For the past 20 years, the American criminal justice system has dealt with juvenile offenders in a way it never did before: by treating them like adults who... Read more
We need more realistic expectations about the possibilities of human transformation Read more
From the July/August 1994 issue ON A SATURDAY EVENING LATE ONE MAY A FEW YEARS AGO, I stood outside a recently opened restaurant and watched as cars... Read more
From the March/April 1994 issue We have grown used to having front-row seats during natural and political cataclysms like the Los Angeles earthquake... Read more
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