Political and Social Stress and EMDR therapy
Guest Blog Post by Viviana Urdaneta Melo, LCSW
Political, environmental, and societal issues have become an inescapable part of our daily lives, extending far beyond the news and social media. The constant flow of information and opinions often brings heated discussions into our personal spaces. For many, these issues aren’t just fleeting headlines; they profoundly shape how we feel, think, and navigate the world. If you feel the emotional burden of these challenges, you are not alone. Recognizing the impact of these external pressures on your mental health is not a sign of weakness—it’s an important and empowering step toward building resilience.
Political stress can lead to heightened anxiety, feelings of helplessness, and even depression (APA, 2017). Elections, polarized opinions about different topics, and witnessing the constant attacks and put-downs of the “other” can feel deeply personal. You may find yourself worrying about the future, the safety of your community, and your rights. Political polarization can also strain relationships, creating rifts between family, friends, and colleagues. This tension influences our emotional lives and can often leave us feeling isolated, misunderstood, or unsafe. In EMDR therapy, there is room to explore these feelings, work through the distress they cause, reprocess the relationship with past events, and find healthier ways to navigate these concerns.
The relationship between trauma and environmental stress is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in mental health. Political polarization has become especially emotionally triggering, said Nili Solomonov, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York who has studied political disclosures in therapy (APA, 2022). In times of heightened polarization and social unrest, political stress can trigger or exacerbate trauma responses, especially in marginalized groups who face systemic discrimination (Compton & Shim, 2015).
Sofia is a 50-year-old woman who comes to therapy because of stress from her job and past trauma. Recently, she has noticed anxiety when she walks with her family around her neighborhood. She notices that her anxiety increases when her husband decides to walk alone because he identifies as a Black Latino male. She fears that he is going to be mistreated or wrongly accused because he is a person of color in this heated political situation, even though he is a U.S. citizen. Sofia is unsure if she can bring this to therapy or if it could be addressed through EMDR.
Is therapy an appropriate place for clients to work through the stress of anticipating holiday interactions involving different political opinions? How can EMDR therapists foster a therapeutic space where clients like Sofia feel comfortable processing their feelings, thoughts, and fears? What if Sofia’s therapist does not fully understand Sofia’s experiences and worries? What if Sofia’s therapist has different political views?
Considerations for Clients in Therapy
Yes. You can discuss political, social, and environmental stressors in the therapy room. Therapy offers an opportunity to unpack feelings and process current triggers and their connection with past events. Whether you’re grappling with issues of identity, societal expectations, feeling misunderstood, or your role in activism with your community, therapy provides a safe, non-judgmental space to process.
EMDR therapy can be used to process political stress and anxiety. Targeting these current triggers and fears to transform overwhelming emotions into more manageable responses is possible. It can help reclaim some sense of empowerment amid political uncertainty and unrest. EMDR therapy can help to recognize, on a somatic level (a body-feeling or felt-sense level), that one’s identity and value are not tied to people’s opinions or biases. Also, it can strengthen ways to feel as safe as possible amid uncertain times.
Your therapist can help you identify and reprocess stressors, develop coping strategies, install resources, and practice navigating the political and social climate with friends and family in ways that align with your values and emotional well-being. You don’t need to carry the weight of these issues alone; you don’t have to leave them at the door when you enter the therapy room.
Considerations for EMDR Therapists
Research from previous elections shows that almost 50% of patients were worried about the political climate and would have liked to speak about politics more (Solomonov, N., & Barber, J. P., 2019). Therapists have a responsibility to create safe spaces for hard conversations to happen. Therapists create room for healing, growth, and empowerment. Talking about political, societal, and environmental issues in therapy is okay because these external forces are intertwined with the client’s physical and emotional well-being. Clients deserve and need a “person-in-environment” framework, where they can bring their whole selves, including the parts that feel impacted by the current world.
Therapists may experience a range of reactions when clients bring political, societal, or environmental stress into the therapy room. Some therapists might feel empathetic and aligned with the client’s concerns, especially if they share similar views. This might foster a strong therapeutic alliance and encourage clients to continue disclosing and reprocessing in session. These therapists might embrace the topic and guide the client in targeting current stressors with EMDR standard protocol, as well as processing any links with other past events.
However, therapists might also feel challenged, uncomfortable, or unsure of how to respond, particularly when clients’ political beliefs differ from their own. Therapists must be mindful of their personal biases and ensure that these do not interfere with the therapeutic process. Some ideas to work through this challenge are:
- Practice self-awareness
- Use grounding techniques before, during, and after session to manage your reactions
- Manage disagreements in a therapeutic way
- Avoid sessions becoming a forum for sharing news or verifying facts
- Acknowledge your feelings with a trusted colleague and seek supervision or consultation
Therapists can reframe moments of discomfort in the therapy room not as obstacles, but as opportunities for personal and professional growth. These experiences allow them to develop new skills, insights, and emotional resilience. Reframing discomfort as a natural part of the therapeutic process encourages therapists to embrace challenges and foster a mindset of continuous learning. Rather than avoiding these moments, therapists can approach them with curiosity and openness. Approaching these moments with curiosity mirrors the work therapists encourage clients to do—being mindful and curious about their internal responses. This could be done individually (reflecting on your views and responses) or in a community (with a colleague or a group of other therapists who might want to use curiosity lenses). Find ways to handle these situations that align with your values and therapeutic approach. By seeing discomfort as a catalyst for growth, therapists strengthen their ability to handle complex situations with greater confidence and empathy.
How can therapists manage disagreement in a therapeutic way? It means approaching differences with empathy, openness, and a focus on the therapeutic relationship. This involves staying calm, non-defensive, and curious about the client’s perspective, even when it differs from their own. Solomonov recommends using disagreements in the therapy room as opportunities to help clients learn to cope with disagreements in other relationships they value. They likely face similar challenges in other interpersonal relationships outside of therapy (APA, 2022).
It is one thing to disagree with someone’s opinion. It is another thing altogether when clients diminish other people or use hateful and discriminatory language to describe someone from different political views or backgrounds. How can therapists handle these situations? Doherty (2021) “recommends responding with a question. For example, “That was pretty strong language. How do you feel about saying that in front of your son?” Or “When you used that expression, how were you thinking I might respond to it?” Questions open the conversation, invite dialogue, and can help treatment planning by finding new targets to reprocess.
Therapists can not only respond to clients but also proactively create space for these discussions by asking clients, “How are the current political, societal, and environmental issues affecting or influencing you right now? Is that something that you would like to process in this space? If so, you are welcome to do it now or later.”
Therapists must validate the client’s feelings and thoughts while maintaining professional boundaries, ensuring that the therapeutic goals remain at the center of the conversation. By navigating disagreements with compassion and respect, therapists help clients feel heard and supported, fostering a safe space to explore their thoughts, feelings, sensations, and reactions without judgment.
Considerations for Everyone
Since both therapists and clients might feel affected by political, social, and environmental issues, let’s discuss some ways everyone can care for themselves during stressors.
- Limit the time that you spend consuming news and social media. Setting specific time limits for checking the news or scrolling through social media feeds helps prevent information overload. It allows for a healthier balance between staying informed and protecting mental well-being.
- Reflect on your views and biases. Self-exploration allows you to recognize how your beliefs may shape your perceptions of clients and their experiences.
- Practice a range of coping skills. Create your toolkit of options to deal with stress: physical activities, mindfulness, journaling, expressive arts, and others. Use flexibility to strengthen your internal and external resources.
- Practice containment. It is ok if you don’t always have the energy and time to explore strong emotions and reactions toward political, societal, and environmental stress. Practice having a safe and structured way to hold these feelings temporarily until you feel ready or willing to process them.
- Use ‘Future Templates’ (Shapiro, 2018, p. 204). Practice visualizing ways to feel, think, and react when experiencing potential challenges with friends, families, and colleagues. Focus on how you would like to handle specific situations, incorporating positive coping strategies and adaptive behaviors that align with your values. Do not focus on how the other people involved will respond. Future templates can serve as a rehearsal for positive outcomes and help clients build confidence in coping with upcoming challenges.
Viviana Urdaneta Melo, MDiv, LCSW is an EMDRIA member, EMDR certified therapist and consultant. Urdaneta Melo has worked with survivors of trauma, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault for more than 12 years. She uses an intercultural and intentional approach around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has worked in different settings such as mental health agencies for domestic violence survivors, university health centers, and private practice. She is an immigrant from Colombia, South America, and practices in both English and Spanish. She works at the EMDR International Association as the chief of clinical affairs. Urdaneta Melo is committed to increasing awareness around the challenges, strengths, and opportunities of working with diverse populations and their intersection of identities.
References
American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress in America: The state of our nation. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/state-nation.pdf
American Psychological Association. (2022). Navigating Thorny Topics in Therapy. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/03/career-navigating-therapy
Doherty, W. J. (2021.) The ethical lives of clients: Transcending self-interest in psychotherapy. American Psychological Association.
Compton, M. T., & Shim, R. S. (2015). The social determinants of mental health. Focus, 13(4), 419-425. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20150017
Fraser, T., Panagopoulos, C., & Smith, K. (2023). Election-related post-traumatic stress: Evidence from the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Politics and the Life Sciences, 42(2), 179–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/pls.2023.8
Kondrat, M. E. (2013). Person-in-environment. Encyclopedia of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.285
Majumder, M., Nguyen, C., Sacco, L., Mahan, K., & Brownstein, J. (2017). Risk factors associated with election-related stress and anxiety before and after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/u4hns
Shapiro, F. (2018). Chapter 8: Incorporating a Future Template. In F. Shapiro Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd Ed, pp. 204-207). New York, NY: The Guilford Press
Solomonov, N., & Barber, J. P. (2019). Conducting psychotherapy in the Trump era: Therapists’ perspectives on political self-disclosure, the therapeutic alliance, and politics in the therapy room. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 75(9), 1508–1518. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22801
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Date
October 25, 2024
Contributor(s)
Viviana Urdaneta Melo
Topics
PTSD
Practice & Methods
Resilience, Self-Care, Your EMDR Practice