When Therapy Turns Political Disagreement Into Psychological Harm

Political disagreement has always strained families. Thanksgiving dinners have ended in arguments. Siblings have gone weeks without speaking after a heated election. None of that is new.

What has changed is the ease with which cutting off parents, siblings, and lifelong friends can be described as an act of psychological self-care. The language of trauma, boundaries, and emotional safety, once used to help people understand serious psychological harm, is now sometimes applied to ordinary political conflict.