Democracy in America | Talking Turkey

America’s election has led to a boomlet for therapists

Take one divisive election result, add a celebration of national unity and watch the mixture rise in the oven

By E.B. | NEW YORK

IT SEEMS fitting that after an election that many believe went to the dogs, quite a few Americans are seeking comfort from canines. Groups that offer therapy hounds, which are known to reduce stress and anxiety, have seen more demand for their furry, wet-nosed services in recent weeks. “This nation needs to have some hard conversations,” says Rachel McPherson of the Good Dog Foundation, a New York city non-profit. “People open up and feel more secure when there’s a dog in the room.”

As Americans gather around tables for the holidays, many will wish they had a pooch at hand. Thanksgiving, a national holiday of gratitude, togetherness and caloric excess, often gathers generations of relatives who have little in common besides blood. The timing this year, on the heels of a uniquely adversarial presidential contest, has some hosts nervous. The etiquette experts of the Emily Post Institute have fielded “an unusual volume of questions” about how to handle political discord at the holiday table, says Daniel Post Senning, an heir and spokesman. Agita over the election and the coming holidays has already been keeping therapists plenty busy.

Talkspace, an online therapy startup that connects users to 1,000 therapists via an app, has seen a surge in traffic since November 8th, says Oren Frank, the company’s CEO. After flooding the site at up to seven times the usual rate in the days following Donald Trump’s win, users have settled to nearly four-times their pre-election numbers. Racial and sexual minorities make up a growing share (“the LGTBQ community is highly engaged and highly anxious”), and more than eight in ten customers are now female, up from 65% in October. Many are seeking “long-term discussions about what the hell happened,” says Mr Frank. Around one in ten users lives in a Republican-voting state.

Around the country therapists say anxious conversations about politics have become inevitable. “I’ve never had an election like this,” says Joe Kort, a psychotherapist in Michigan. Some of his clients are apparently showing signs of post-traumatic stress. Many have decided to skip the usual turkey meal if it means avoiding a confrontation with a gloating uncle. Awkwardly, avoidance is not an option for some of his trickiest customers: married couples who pulled levers for rival candidates. “I have clients who say ‘I don’t know if I can stay married to someone who would vote for a misogynist, a xenophobe’. I try to get them to stop trying to change each other’s minds, to just hear each other.”

Therapists often pride themselves on their neutrality, but demography tells another story. Most are concentrated in left-leaning cities on the coasts, and more than two-thirds are women. Many will privately allow that they too have been grieving since the election. “Trump is unleashing the worse angels of our nature,” says William Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. His manifesto against the rise of the bullying tactics of “Trumpism” has collected over 3,500 signatures from fellow therapists.

Some quibble that the behaviours modelled by the president-elect often run counter to their therapeutic recommendations. “I’m trying to get people to stop, take a breath and think before you say something because speaking impulsively can be damaging,” says Tobi Goldfus, a psychotherapist in Maryland. But Mr Trump’s rather unreflective approach to public discourse “is not making this easy,” she admits.

To ensure that pumpkin pie goes down with as little angst as possible, most therapists offer tips that could come straight from Emily Post’s etiquette manual: “Don’t talk about politics, don’t talk about religion and have some respect,” says Ms Goldfus. Bon appétit.

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