Current Events > my therapist randomly brought up trump today

(+) Yeah! (+)

I was talking about how my university is really racially divided and homophobic even though it's really prestigious, and he was like "yeah, you would think people who go to ____ would be more tolerant rather than be, like, trump voters"

Me: 0_0

Him: ...not to get into trouble with you...

Me: (LOL) no its fine i don't like him either

I don't really like trump either (no, that doesn't automatically mean I'm liberal) so it didn't bother me but isn't that really unprofessional to bring up politics in therapy? lol

or maybe it was on purpose? like a therapy technique lmao

plus what if I did like him... There are plenty of reasons people voted for him, etc. that don't involve any kind of racism or prejudice

Now I feel like I should stop going to this therapist bc he's unprofessional

what does CE, in all its wisdom and (clearly) mental health expertise, think about this?

I think that this was part of the therapy. Quite a few people, both for and against, have come completely unglued over the election. He may have been trying to determine if this is a stressor for you. Just the mention of Trump sets some people ablaze.

That said, his personal opinions, especially regarding politics don't belong in a counseling session. It interferes with his objectivity.
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DarthGravid posted...

I think that this was part of the therapy. Quite a few people, both for and against, have come completely unglued over the election. He may have been trying to determine if this is a stressor for you. Just the mention of Trump sets some people ablaze.

That said, his personal opinions, especially regarding politics don't belong in a counseling session. It interferes with his objectivity.

Do you think I should bring it up to him then? Him saying that actually made me feel better, but at the same time I was shocked lol

Is everyone on CE except me seeing a therapist?
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Mine did it as well.

I just said 'yeah, this stuff must make for good business' which they replied 'You don't even want to know'
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IHOP posted...

plus what if I did like him

you should have played this card and ran with it
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i want pancakes
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If it made you uncomfortable, then yes. It seems to have caused you to doubt him. His approach, per your transcript of the conversation, was unprofessional. However, he is human, and this topic affects people very deeply. He slipped. We all do. I think that if you tell him that it made you uncomfortable, that he will apologize and it won't happen again. It's better to resolve this than to start over with someone new.
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DarthGravid posted...

If it made you uncomfortable, then yes. It seems to have caused you to doubt him. His approach, per your transcript of the conversation, was unprofessional. However, he is human, and this topic affects people very deeply. He slipped. We all do. I think that if you tell him that it made you uncomfortable, that he will apologize and it won't happen again. It's better to resolve this than to start over with someone new.

Hmm, I don't know that it made me uncomfortable, but in my head I was just like "lol wtf." I thought it was pretty funny actually. The thing is I was saying some of my opinions that were on the more conservative side (fiscally) and then he brought up the Trump thing like 10 minutes later (as I was talking about people being intolerant). So I was thinking maybe he thought I was conservative and said it on purpose bc he didn't want to see me any more or something. Especially since during the beginning of that same session I was already mentioning that I had doubts about him (but I doubt people easily so not necessarily his fault; I doubted him way less than other therapists I've seen). I think I'll just bring it up and not really care if he gets offended.

IHOP posted...

DarthGravid posted...

If it made you uncomfortable, then yes. It seems to have caused you to doubt him. His approach, per your transcript of the conversation, was unprofessional. However, he is human, and this topic affects people very deeply. He slipped. We all do. I think that if you tell him that it made you uncomfortable, that he will apologize and it won't happen again. It's better to resolve this than to start over with someone new.

Hmm, I don't know that it made me uncomfortable, but in my head I was just like "lol wtf." I thought it was pretty funny actually. The thing is I was saying some of my opinions that were on the more conservative side (fiscally) and then he brought up the Trump thing like 10 minutes later (as I was talking about people being intolerant). So I was thinking maybe he thought I was conservative and said it on purpose bc he didn't want to see me any more or something. Especially since during the beginning of that same session I was already mentioning that I had doubts about him (but I doubt people easily so not necessarily his fault; I doubted him way less than other therapists I've seen). I think I'll just bring it up and not really care if he gets offended.

It's your therapy, you pay him. That gives you the right to decide what is out of bounds, and whether or not to continue with him.
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My therapist would say *you are saying, "My therapist shouldn't be so stubborn and argumentative." It is the shouldy approach