Interventions for Counseling & Psychotherapy
These interventions draw from the EMBRACE model and can be used to directly manage affective polarization in psychotherapy sessions. Begin by assessing your own moral profile to better understand how you relate to others, promoting belief diversity with the clients you work with. Then explore the "Half Smile" and "Willing Hands" mindfulness techniques to manage strong reactions. Lastly, gain a deeper understanding of your client and their sociopolitical values by using the Motivational Interviewing "Card Sort."
Moral matrix
Liberals, Conservatives, and Libertarians hold different moral values or "virtues." Moral Foundations Theory suggests that there are innate moral instincts observed cross-culturally. Visit yourmorals.org to take a brief assessment and learn your personality and moral profile. Knowing your profile will help you better understand how you relate to your client's sociopolitical values and sociopolitical identity. 9,10
Half smile, willing hands
Working with people across the political spectrum can have a visceral impact, even pushing the clinician into a state of fight or flight. To manage somatic symptoms, body language cues and other unpleasant distractions, use the half smile paired with open hands mindfulness technique from Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Some examples include diffusing an angry furrowed brow with the half smile, or a tensed body and crossed arms countered with open hands.
CLICK HERE FOR HALF SMILE AND WILLING HANDS
Motivational interviewing card sort
The person-centered and collaborative spirit of Motivational Interviewing is a great fit for Therapy Across Party Lines. The Card Sort Technique is useful for facilitating client change, but can also help you to better understand the client's sociopolitical values. Consider using it yourself to better understand your own sociopolitical values.
Tackling Tough Cases
Navigating sociopolitcal differences in session
Psychotherapy and counseling are often steeped in sociopolitical values
Angela is a Mental Health Counselor from the Midwest who recently began working with a middle-aged man from Egypt. She finds herself having strong reactions to his conservative outlook on gender and sexuality. Her body tenses up, and she becomes angry and lost in her thoughts.
Practice the "half smile" and "open hands" technique
Max, a social worker who works with clients who have medicaid, finds himself hopeless and frustrated when they don't vote in elections.
Learn how to use "values card sort"
Bethany, a psychologist and devout Christian, is in the position of providing counseling services to a client considering getting an abortion. She feels cognitive dissonance between her values and her actions.
Visit yourmorals.org to discover your moral profile