# If I'm looking for a therapist, is it OK to ask if they are a Trump supporter? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 19, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400 "2020-12-19T14:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/61 "2020-12-20T18:06:31Z")
It’s my opinion too. A good therapist shouldn’t have to prove he’s on “your team” to help you. And what important personal belief questions did you have for your therapist 5 years ago before Trump made it easy? ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/62 "2020-12-20T18:15:06Z")
Half the population of the US is roughly, what, 135 million. Half of _voters_ is 72.5 million. Pedantic? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/63 "2020-12-20T18:15:36Z")
Eta: @HMS_Irruncible, you should reread the part that “agrees” with you. His wife said the patient’s bigotry could be a block in the therapist relationship. That’s what gives your position weight. Your anger towards Trump voters could be similar enough to religious bigotry that it should be considered. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/64 "2020-12-20T18:17:42Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > As do you I think of them as “like most humans” but I consider myself to have an obligation to give most humans **the time of day and more** How much more? What is this thread about? Suppose you have a kid in their teens who is struggling with emotional problems. Let’s make this a little easier - the kid is not black, not LGBT. Suppose that you (somehow) obtained knowledge that of two potential therapists, one is a Trump supporter. We can assume that the therapist was not overt about it, no violation of professional norms as you see them, but somehow you found out. Can you honestly say that this really would have no bearing on your choice of therapist for your kid? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/65 "2020-12-20T18:20:43Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I know a guy who back in the day believed that almost every female in the bar was hot for him. Nah, none actually came on to him, but he could tell. They _implicitly_ let him know by how he saw them look at him, and of course what he read as what they meant by looking in his direction was correct! Right? A belief of what someone _implicitly_ means while not actually saying is not actual divulging anything. So, he never talked to any of them. That’s a bit different from someone whose entire relationship is all about talking. I have clients come in and spout Trump supporting conspiracy theories to me all the time, the fact that I just listen to them and do my damndest not to roll my eyes would not be considered to be an implicit agreement with them. If I told them that they had a point, then that would be implicitly agreeing with them. Just because it is not directly expressed does not mean that it is not expressed. Your friend at the bar was self centered and delusional. If he had went up to them, asked them out, went out with them, and had conjugal relations with them, then at that point, even if they never said a word, he could legitimately say that they implicitly let them know they were hot for him. As it is, it was just his imagination. > [@DSeid](#): > > I agree that Trumpists dehumanize. And I find dehumanizing them also to be objectionable. It’s not dehumanizing them to not want to get mental help from someone who is dehumanizing you. It’s just the most basic of common sense. I live my life surrounded by Trump supporters. Most of my family are Trump supporters. Most of my clients and acquaintances are Trump supporters. The reasons that they support Trump range all the way from him being the greatest president ever to librus are evil and must be destroyed. I would not feel comfortable sharing my feelings and concerns with such a person. ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/66 "2020-12-20T18:24:29Z")
Anger toward Trump voters is not like religious bigotry. People are often _born_ into religions, and religions seem to be based on appealing to the better angels’ of peoples’ nature. People chose Trump _specifically_ because he’s vile, he hates groups of people, he’s dishonest, he’s a crook, he freed them from having to _act_ like they care about anybody, and he promised to hurt people. I’m convinced they live vicariously through them. “If I don’t win, it’s fake news,” is a horrifying mindset. The _best_ case scenario is that they’re indifferent, and that is worse than approving of him. The bottom line is that Trump lies, cheats, sexually assaults women, lies some more, throws tantrums, and urges his followers to violence. After five years, there can be no pretense that he is an unknown quantity. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/67 "2020-12-20T18:31:10Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Not tolerating intolerance is very different than using dehumanizing and pathologizing terms of them. Dehumanizing and “pathologizing”? Nobody is dehumanizing _them_, one of their defining behaviors is to dehumanize others. So you seem to be investing a vast amount of energy here in splitting hairs between describing Trump supporters’ behavior as despicable and their mental state as delusional, something I think you probably agree with; and “pathologizing” them, whatever bad thing that is supposed to mean. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/68 "2020-12-20T18:31:44Z")
So, is it the consensus opinion here that therapists should also be chosen by their pro-choice/anti-abortion opinion, positions on universal healthcare, troop levels in Iraq? Or is Trump voting the only part of politics you need an answer for? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/69 "2020-12-20T18:44:16Z")
> [@margin](#): > > Half the population of the US is roughly, what, 135 million. > > Half of _voters_ is 72.5 million. Pedantic? Possibly. I would be surprised if the issue is not only if they voted for Trump. I suspect that declining to vote against him is only marginally better. @FigNorton - no my wife would not describe them as bigoted. They have a specific belief system that would make working with her, a secular Jew, difficult. And for that matter it might be true that she would have to work on being aware of her biases about the Orthodox, which she possesses. @Riemann - let us further assume I’ve done my homework and have recommendations from people I trust that this individual is an excellent therapist, compassionate, skilled, helpful, etc., and that they keep their political beliefs out of the therapy sessions. Better word of mouth than others I’ve researched. Yes, I’d be fine with it. Statistical universe? Most therapists are not Trump supporters and my expectations, biased as they are, would be that the few who are would not get those glowing recommendations. But the performance is what I’d go by. @k9bfriender - so let’s imagine he talked to them and left the conversation convinced she was so into him, because, he feels, she implied such. “Did you see how she touched her hair? I know what that means!” _Even if she did_ find him attractive is that the same as her telling him she was hot for him? And is it possible that those who believe that something was implicitly meant just might be mistaken, projecting onto the person that which they want to see? > [@k9bfriender](#): > > I have clients come in and spout Trump supporting conspiracy theories to me all the time, the fact that I just listen to them and do my damndest not to roll my eyes would not be considered to be an implicit agreement with them. Are you sure? I’d actually suspect that some, likely most, of them read your lack of objection as implicit agreement. Telling them what you thought would be explicit. Maybe ask them what they think your beliefs are. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/70 "2020-12-20T18:45:19Z")
I’m not a therapist, but I would imagine that there are some who can easily tell from the client’s tone of voice in asking, “Are you a Trump supporter?” whether the client leans towards a favorable or unfavorable view of Trump. And then either lie, or tell the truth, accordingly. So Therapist Sue could be MAGA with a Trump client at 1 PM and a Biden supporter with a blue voter at 3 PM. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/71 "2020-12-20T18:47:31Z")
Or at least “imply” it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/72 "2020-12-20T18:49:47Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Yes, I’d be fine with it… > > Most therapists are not Trump supporters and my expectations, biased as they are, would be that the few who are would not get those glowing recommendations. But the performance is what I’d go by. And you honestly, sincerely, think that’s there’s no _causal_ relationship between being the type of person who is a Trump supporter and being a poor therapist? I honestly don’t believe you. I’m not saying you’re lying, of course, I just mean that I think you think you’re advocating some kind of misguided point of idealist principle here, and that if this really happened you would not be fine with it. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/73 "2020-12-20T18:52:38Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > @FigNorton - no my wife would not describe them as bigoted. They have a specific belief system that would make working with her, a secular Jew, difficult. And for that matter it might be true that she would have to work on being aware of her biases about the Orthodox, which she possesses Seems like merely a polite way to describe bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/74 "2020-12-20T19:06:11Z")
Not sure how you could read what I’ve written as claiming that. I acknowledge my biased expectations explicitly. Again, statistical universe per the Psychology Today article - most therapists I’d be interviewing voted against Trump and most would guess that I voted against as well. If I asked the question I’d be dividing the world more into those that declined to answer out of their professional norm of setting clear boundaries, those who wanted to at least imply what they felt I wanted to hear so they could get the client possibly no matter what they thought, and those who felt that their personal private beliefs and choices were fair game to be asked about in the relationship even before there was one. Personally I’d chose a member of the first group given that and that alone, although I would not ask the question or do a search for the information. @FigNorton, my wife is perhaps slightly bigoted against the Orthodox in some ways, but in this sense she is respecting their perspective and not thinking that such is bigoted on their part. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/75 "2020-12-20T19:10:25Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > So, is it the consensus opinion here that therapists should also be chosen by their pro-choice/anti-abortion opinion, positions on universal healthcare, troop levels in Iraq? Or is Trump voting the only part of politics you need an answer for? Sure, if those are things that are important to you. If you have had an abortion, would you go to a therapist that thinks that abortion is murder? If you have PTSD from your time in Iraq, would you go to a therapist that thinks that we should have sent in more troops and killed more Iraqi’s? Trump is a _very_ polarizing figure and topic. It is unlikely that he would not come up in conversation when you are discussing what your problems and concerns are. > [@DSeid](#): > > And is it possible that those who believe that something was implicitly meant just might be mistaken, projecting onto the person that which they want to see? You are confusing implicit with imagination. Just because it is not direct does not mean that it is entirely projection and delusion. > [@DSeid](#): > > Are you sure? I’d actually suspect that some, likely most, of them read your lack of objection as implicit agreement. They may, because as we have determined, Trump supports do tend towards delusion, think that my lack of objection is agreement. But an actual implicit agreement would have to have some sort of actual affirming action on my part, even if not direct. You seem to have latched onto a very specific and narrow definition of the word, one that was very unlikely how it was meant by those who asked or answered on this survey. “Are you a Trump supporter?” “I did not vote for him”, would be an implicit answer. “I am worried about the damage that Trump is doing to our country”, “You are right to be worried, let’s talk about how you can cope with those concerns.” would be an implicit answer. “I am depressed because of Trump.” “Let’s talk about how to make you better.” Would _not_ be an implicit answer. What you are implying by comparing it to your delusional bar friend, is that, in the course of doing nothing but talking and discussing thoughts, feelings, and concerns, that the client is simply imagining that the therapist is in agreement with them, and that there are no specific, if not direct, reasons why they believe this. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/76 "2020-12-20T19:15:43Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’m not a therapist, but I would imagine that there are some who can easily tell from the client’s tone of voice in asking, “Are you a Trump supporter?” whether the client leans towards a favorable or unfavorable view of Trump. And then either lie, or tell the truth, accordingly. Outright lying to clients is probably one of the worst ways to establish a good line of communication that will help them through whatever their problems are. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/77 "2020-12-20T19:18:56Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > If you have PTSD from your time in Iraq, would you go to a therapist that thinks that we should have sent in more troops and killed more Iraqi’s? Would you want a therapist who’s a pacifist and thinks anyone you killed in Iraq was murder? What if they have a nuanced viewpoint? Is that not good enough? Seriously, for the most part, you shouldn’t be running your therapist through the same criteria as your friends list. A good therapist is trying to help you understand and better deal with interpersonal relationships and your own thought processes. If they’re good, immigration policy shouldn’t factor in too heavy. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/78 "2020-12-20T19:20:15Z")
If these cause psychological distress, then _yes_! Why is this so difficult? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/79 "2020-12-20T19:21:52Z")
If the therapist doesn’t bring up their views, how could it cause psychological distress? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400/80 "2020-12-20T19:22:20Z")
Fun fact: [Radovan Karadžić](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radovan_Karad%C5%BEi%C4%87) began his professional life as a psychiatrist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-im-looking-for-a-therapist-is-it-ok-to-ask-if-they-are-a-trump-supporter/928400.md?page=5)