By Andrew Hartz, PhD & Val Thomas, DPsych, Co-Editors in Chief
The following article appears as the introduction to the second issue of “Frontiers in Mental Health,” journal of the Open Therapy Institute. Read the full issue here.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen politicized institutions profoundly impact people’s lives, such as with speech codes, hiring discrimination, and ideological training in schools and the workplace. Marriages have ended, friendships have been broken, and family members are estranged. It’s clear that people care deeply about political issues and are significantly impacted by them. It’s also clear that people have great difficulty talking about these issues productively. These topics can lead to emotion dysregulation, interpersonal conflict, cognitive distortions, defense mechanisms, and even symptoms of mental illness.
Sadly, at a time when psychotherapy professions could be helpful for people with these issues, the field has succumbed to the same politicized dynamics that have occurred elsewhere, including shutting down dialogue, promoting activism over patient-centered care, and even pathologizing patients for their views or immutable characteristics. As a result, profound damage has been done to the profession, mistrust is at a high, and millions of patients are struggling to find a therapist who respects their values and understands their concerns.
Now, there seems to be an opening for dialogue and reform. As more people become tired of conflict, they’re looking for ways to move forward. This is an opportunity we shouldn’t miss, but correcting the field is an enormous undertaking. This involves more than just telling therapists to refrain from attacking their patients over politics; it requires helping therapists understand and empathize with the myriad groups of people they often ignore or view negatively.
Fortunately, these biases are finally being confronted. A dynamic and enterprising new professional community is emerging: a robust network of academics and practitioners committed to reform. They aren’t just exposing specific biases; they’re creating the institutional structures necessary to sustain lasting change. Frontiers in Mental Health is providing a platform for their pioneering work.
The second issue of this journal contains 14 new articles, each on an issue that affects countless people but is neglected because of the social political biases in the profession. Chloe Carmichael highlights how self-censorship damages mental health. Jaco van Zyl explores the common but almost entirely avoided topic of anti-white racial aggression, and Dean McKay describes the increasing prominence of a new type of anxiety disorder that focuses on the fear of being canceled. Each article offers insights and evidence and highlights areas where more research and more clinical resources are needed.
Several articles deal with couples’ and family issues. Nafees Alam identifies biases against men in couples’ therapy. Camilo Ortiz and Mathew Fastman discuss the myriad costs associated with intensive parenting, while Linda Chamberlain and William McCrown consider how political conflicts impact families.
Other populations that often encounter bias include: police officers (Kristopher Kaliebe), religious patients (Neil Kressel), detransitioners (Stella O’Malley), and various minority group members who have heterodox beliefs (Lawrence Ian Reed). Finally, several articles discuss broader biases in the profession, such as the problem of ignoring biological sex differences (William Sanderson), the importance of socio-political values for the therapeutic alliance (Nina Silander), the misuse of the term “culture” inside and outside the mental health profession (Douglas Novotny), and biases that have become codified in the social work profession (Nafees Alam).
Each of these topics has the potential to grow into a substantial research program or clinical specialty in its own right. These articles are intended to start conversations, not end them. Further research, training, and service improvements are needed on each. Hopefully, these authors’ insights will serve as a catalyst to spark broader research, enhance training, and improve therapeutic services for millions of people.
