Editor’s Note: This month’s blog post was written by Juniper Center clinicians, Sarah Torres and Keenen Stevenson.
Politics has been entering the therapy room for several years. Our clients report losing sleep over upcoming and past election results; increased stress among families and at family gatherings; and even indefinite estrangement from family and friends. An alarming correlation between political stress and suicidal ideation has been reported, and Affective Polarization has become an accepted cultural phenomenon.
On an individual level, an increase in mental health distress directly related to the sociopolitical landscape is undeniable. Are we giving equal thought to the ways our clients are affected by new policies abruptly ending healthcare due to their gender identity, or practices suddenly criminalizing half of a family? We bring our whole selves into the room, as do our clients, and we must acknowledge the systems we participate in, and in many cases benefit from, that are oppressing those we seek to help.
Since the start of 2026, increases in discriminatory practices led by the federal government are impacting trans people and immigrants: Lurie Children’s stopped accepting new patients ages 17 and younger for gender-affirming care including puberty blockers and hormone treatment; and, in addition to prolonged presence throughout the city and suburbs in which we live and work, ICE has been deployed to O’Hare airport acting in place of TSA workers currently furloughed.
People with myriad and varied identities exist. Their differences threatened our heteronormative, white, Christian-centered, cis-male power structures, which then created policies to stop anyone who does not fit those culturally accepted norms from gaining agency over their own lives. Our clients are affected, we are affected. We hold space for people as we wait for the newest introduction of policies intentionally designed to disenfranchise people in vulnerable communities. Is this our lot? Do we sit, wait, and worry? Or, do we stand and use our practice experience and knowledge? Are we attending local Town Halls and School Board Meetings?
Are we calling our representatives in Congress to clearly articulate the oppression and injustices we see daily and demand change? Are we voting in local and national elections for people who will protect the most vulnerable and support the rising tide, for people who reflect our professions’ espoused values? Acting with cultural humility extends beyond direct care with our clients. It requires us to reflect on personal bias, to be aware of the identities we bring into the room, and to be fully present and actionable in the systems deciding our and our clients’ rights.