How Group Therapy Can Help with Political Stress
Written by: Sabriya Charles, MA, NCC, Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern | Fruits of Freedom Counseling
Political stress can lead to symptoms of anxiety, depression, confusion, paranoia, and fear of the unknown. Furthermore it can even lead to functioning impairments on work, relationships, and in various other areas in one’s life with some studies even finding an increase in suicidality (1). It can feel lonely when trying to come to terms with changes that can impact clients, their families, and loved ones based on the landscape of politics.
Group therapy can be a scary place to talk politics but what if it is a healthy space to serve as an outlet in the chaos?
Another study found group therapy for climates of political unrest can foster a sense of community, give space for collective memory and recognition of traumatic events, as well as promote narrative sharing (2,3). These elements bring forth space for hearing one another and moving forward in solidarity to preserve mental wellbeing.
One of the important aspects of group therapy for political distress is setting really clear ground rules. Group leaders will want to ensure that group members have an understanding of what is acceptable and what is not in the group therapy setting. Things may be on high alert as trust can hang in the balance, therefore rapport building in the first session is very important to ensure the group experience can be healthy and effective.
Perhaps the group setting may focus on one specific political subpopulation or if it combines multiple population types, there may be requirements on how political views can be disclosed. It is important to understand that this can be a touchy topic in the group setting but if group members are encouraged more to focus on the IMPACTS of the political stress on their lives, mental health, and emotional wellbeing, it can keep the focus away from potentially heated discussions.
So what types of things can be discussed in group therapy related to politics:
- How new laws may be affecting one’s wellbeing
- The emotions about what a new regime can mean for you and your family
- How the administration is affecting the ability to work
- What political stress is doing to personal and/or professional relationships
- How political stressors may be impacting your ability to parent
- The impact that the current climate has had on sleep
- The impact that the current climate has had on treatment by strangers or acquaintances.
These are just a few focuses that political stress-based therapy groups can offer. While it can be a tricky territory to navigate, the comradery and sense of shared connection through storytelling can be invaluable outcomes in the web of distress that politics may bring.
