“Who Did You Vote For?” - Therapy, Politics, and Safety: Why Clients Want to Know Who I Voted For

The first time a potential client asked me, point-blank, “Who did you vote for?” I froze for a moment. It wasn’t a question I’d ever been asked in a therapy consultation before. As therapists, we’re trained to be careful about self-disclosure: it should always serve the client, never our own needs. Still, this was new.

At first, I thought maybe it was just an election-season blip. But then it kept happening. And happening. By now, in 2025, it’s become a regular question in my consultations.

And honestly? I understand why.

The Backdrop Clients Are Living In

This year has been heavy for almost everyone I see in my practice. Clients are showing up carrying layers of collective stress and personal pain:

• Feeling crushed by the relentless news cycle and doomscrolling fatigue.

• Facing layoffs, financial insecurity, or impossible cost-of-living increases.

• Living in fear of ICE raids or deportation threats.

• Grappling with out-of-state travel for reproductive healthcare.

• Navigating family ruptures, political estrangements, and “no contact” decisions.

One client recently sighed and told me:

“I never imagined living in a fascist regime, while still needing to shop for groceries and pay for Netflix.”

That sums up the surreal dissonance of this moment. My clients aren’t coming into sessions in a vacuum. They’re bringing in the very real weight of political and systemic harm.

The Old Rules About Disclosure

When I was in graduate school, the guidance around disclosure was pretty straightforward: don’t do it unless there’s a clear therapeutic purpose. A personal story, a shared experience, a gentle “me too” to normalize pain. Political disclosure? Absolutely off the table.

But today, neutrality doesn’t always feel neutral. For many of my clients—especially those who are queer, BIPOC, women, or otherwise marginalized—the question isn’t just about politics. It’s about safety.

If you’re going to bare your soul to a therapist, you need to know they’ll have your back. You need to know they won’t minimize your reality or quietly side with those who want to erase you.

Why Clients Ask

Think about the people you feel safest with. The ones who would protest with you, stand beside you, go to bat for you. For many marginalized folks, therapy is only safe if they know their therapist is that person.

I don’t think many queer or BIPOC therapists are being sought out by Trump-supporting clients. And if they are, the stakes of disclosure are wildly different.

That’s why these questions—“Who did you vote for?” or “Where do you stand?”—make sense. They’re not about curiosity. They’re about survival.

Performative Allyship Isn’t Enough

It’s not enough to say you “see” your clients. It’s not enough to offer unconditional positive regard in the room while ignoring the systems harming them outside of it.

Real allyship shows up in action:

• Naming oppression when it enters the therapy room.

• Advocating in your community.

• Creating spaces where neutrality doesn’t become complicity.

• Building trust by living your values, not just speaking them.

My Answer

So when clients ask, I answer honestly: I voted for Harris. I’m strongly opposed to the current administration and the very real harm it causes my clients, my communities, and people I love.

And if a client tells me they voted differently, I still hold this: my ethical values as a social worker always come before my political beliefs. Every person deserves to heal from trauma.

Every person deserves safety, peace, and care. That doesn’t change.

Advice for Therapists, Clients, and the Therapy-Curious

If you’re a therapist: Get clear on your boundaries and values. Know when disclosure supports client safety—and when it doesn’t. Don’t hide behind neutrality if it harms your client’s trust.

If you’re a client: You are allowed to ask. You are allowed to prioritize your safety and seek out a therapist whose values align enough that you feel fully seen.

If you’re therapy-curious: The right therapist for you isn’t necessarily the one who is “neutral.” It’s the one who makes you feel safe, aligned, and free to show up exactly as you are.

Therapy school didn’t prepare me for this political moment. But what it did prepare me for was centering people’s dignity, safety, and healing. That, more than neutrality, is the work.