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Is there a role for Politics in Counselling and Psychotherapy?

Hannah Jackson-McCamley

Updated: Aug 27, 2022


If I say I am a therapist who is interested in politics I often get an awkward glance and a quick change of subject. Both topics often make people feel very uncomfortable.


As a counsellor I’m not sure why.


I’m interested in people and all that makes us who we are. Sometimes if we feel stuck or wonder why we repeat patterns of behaviour we might look at our childhood and to our parents to understand why we react in such a way. Our experiences and those introjected from our caregivers are informed by the world around us and our class, age, gender and race (amongst many other aspects) inform how we navigate the world.

Politics informs economic, cultural and social factors that impact each and every one of us and since the pandemic, Brexit and Black Lives Matter protests, more and more of my clients recognise that the personal has become very political.


Now that doesn’t mean that our sessions will be rowdy debates on political parties or voting, nor me disclosing my views.

You’re not here for that.

But I do believe that as a counsellor empathy and understanding is key to our relationship and therefore it is imperative that I have an interest in the wider context of my clients’ lives and recognise how privilege, inequality, oppression or injustice may be inhibiting them from embracing a full and happy existence.


I wrote a short piece about this in Deborah A. Lee and Pete Sanders’ “Step in to Study Counselling and Psychotherapy” (4th edition).






The book is aimed at counselling and psychotherapy students and can be purchased:


If you want to explore how the wider world is affecting your life, get in touch with me at hello@hjmcounsellingtherapy.com


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