Exploring psychotherapists’ views on the inclusion of, and clinical engagement with, political material within the therapy session

Clients come to therapy to discuss various aspects of their lives, which can include political material and the wider sociopolitical context. This is even more likely to happen in the politically polarised world in which we now live. This study aimed to explore psychotherapists’ views on the inclusion of, and clinical engagement with, political material within the therapy session. Participants in this study were therapists who had at least five years’ post-qualification experience. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach to reflexive thematic analysis, situated within a critical paradigm. From this, three themes were constructed: (1) “holding the tension: the politically engaged therapist within a disengaged profession”; (2) “clients are impacted by the wider political context”; and (3) “the complexity of working with the political in a relational way”. Running through all the themes was an emphasis on the importance of the sociopolitical context to therapeutic work, engagement with political material developing within a strong therapeutic relationship, and the lack of adequate training on clinical engagement with political material. Using a qualitative approach, this study presented a broad perspective on psychotherapists’ views on the inclusion of, and clinical engagement with, political material within the therapy session and shed light on this under-researched aspect of clinical practice. This research argued that there is a need for the sociopolitical context to be included within core professional training and a need for therapists to: (a) increase their sociopolitical self-awareness; (b) develop their understanding of different contexts and the impact of these on their clients; (c) be mindful that sociopolitical power dynamics can be enacted within the therapeutic relationship. Building on the current study further research could explore: (a) views and practice of trainee therapists; (b) clients’ experience of engaging with the political; (c) potential differences between therapists’ and clients’ understandings of the political and its impact on the therapeutic process. The contextual situatedness of the research was discussed.