24/01/2021
In a new article, Australian psychotherapist Zoë Krupka reflects how experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted therapy and what it reveals about the connection between psychotherapy and social change. She argues that the million-plus deaths from the virus, job losses, and the stark realities of rising inequality and despair have made it clear that the historically apolitical stance of psychology does not meet many clients’ needs.
As a therapist, Krupka explains that she has seen the positive transformations clients have gone through both in their inner world and in their relation to the world around them. However, she is doubtful she can claim that psychotherapy has improved the world overall. Such a realization got her wondering about how psychotherapy might influence more permanent changes in society, especially as more people are coming to therapists during the pandemic.
Via the excellent Mad In America
Krupka, Z. (2020). We are not in this together: Psychotherapy and pandemic emotions. Psychotherapy and Politics International, ppi.1561. (Link)
A therapist reflects on feelings evoked by the pandemic, their political meanings, and how psychotherapy might facilitate social change.
