Political Self-Disclosure and the Therapeutic Alliance
- Define political self-disclosure
- Therapist political self-disclosure vs. therapist self-disclosure
- Steps to build alliance when politics clash
- Techniques to find common ground with divergence around political belief systems
- Uncover similarities between client and clinician
- Reasons for and against self-disclosure
- Strong countertransference reactions with divergent political belief systems
- Therapeutic outcomes with convergent political beliefs
- Impact of political discussions on other clinical issues
Relevant Ethical Principles of Political Self-Disclosure with Clients
- 6 basic principles of ethical practice
- Relevant professional ethical codes (AAMFT, APA, ACA, NASW)
The Role of Implicit Bias in Countertransference Situations
- Understand the neuroscience basis for implicit bias
- Actionable steps for managing implicit bias and countertransference
- Differential effects of political versus other types of implicit bias
Strengthen Own Capacity for Managing Countertransference
- Lead indicators of countertransference
- Frequent politically-based countertransference situations
- Common risks and benefits of countertransference
- Create ongoing countertransference management plan
- Overcome barriers to implementing a countertransference management plan
- Discern particular and germane characteristics for self
- Plan for and apply appropriate learning program for self-awareness
Understand and Explore Collective Trauma Response
- Viktor Frankl’s “pause before response”
- Trauma triggers from both sides of the political aisle
- Relevant collective trauma research to current political climate
- Limitations of the research and potential risks


