Psychologists, you take on a tremendous amount of responsibility. In your roles to help people get better. You do so especially now during this time of heightened, societal upheaval.

No matter how one leans politically, most will agree that the U.S. has changed dramatically since the Trump presidency began in January. Over these past several months, we have witnessed a wave of actions that have blatantly and adversely affected the lives of ordinary people. These actions have compromised people’s chances for basic survival, their ability to speak freely without retribution or threat of harm or violence, and their right to express dissent over matters of unfair treatment, violation of workers’ rights, voter suppression, and global war.. The groups targeted in these actions include the poor and middle-class, people of color, those who condemn genocide and apartheid states, and foreigners viewed as undesirable, to name only a few. Ongoing changes have been shown to negatively affect the economy through massive cuts in federal jobs and funding from myriad programs and services. The slashes affecting those who occupy the 99% of the economic strata help benefit the wealth of the already very wealthy. 1 For some, the accounts of bribery, corruption and violation of people’s constitutional rights that underlie these changes are welcome by those enrapt in emphasizing the righteousness of “us” over the criminality, laziness, and heathenism of “them.”

All these events are tips of the iceberg. The impacts of these actions can leave many people feeling helpless, withdrawn, depressed, angry, or very worried about personal encounters with armed police and military personnel, and globally, how they’re viewed by others when they travel abroad or sustain their activism as citizens of a country once reputed for its generosity in donating aid to the people in developing countries (and from which wealthier countries like the U.S. have derived their wealth).

Psychologists, please take care of yourselves as you confront these issues personally. Your healing is important to those whose lives you touch.

So What Does Taking Care of Myself Have to Do with Politics?

First and foremost, what I am referring to is not politics. I take no sides as both sides of the major political parties have fueled much of what we’ve been observing. Second, you may find yourself caught up in the tyranny --- which is what we can call what is happening currently --- if you find yourself not quite sure how to deal with it in the lives of the people you work with. Third, getting to that point of working on these issues as they have an impact on your clients, consultees, research participants, and so forth, is enhanced when you also recognize how these issues have an influence on your own mental health. We know it’s stressful to hear about unfolding events and to feel the sting directly of job cuts. But what I will focus on is taking the time to examine how the tyranny influences your ability to take care of yourself as both person and healer.

To some psychologists, “outside” or “political” issues have little room in our work in making assessments, conducting therapy, or doing research. I think some imagine that drawing attention to them could rile debates that are unnecessary in serious psychological work. But in all fairness, I have observed in my work that many psychologists are able to grasp, at least intellectually, that these outside issues play an important role in how they conduct themselves professionally. However, how psychologists address them differs quite widely.

Those who are more attuned to the intersection of the different forces that influence the shaping of psyches and behaviors display a rather natural or fluid rhythm in how they conduct themselves professionally. In the case of practitioners, these professionals can speak openly about the forces, not politicizing them, but responsibly identifying the limitations (or advantages) that societal ills have created for their clients. They neither downplay nor exaggerate how these ills have impact and probe, with facility, to explore the details of their clients’ lives based on additional knowledge.

This naturalness can be nurtured.

Developing this skill is also impressive because so much about our societal norms conveys to us that there are matters that we do not speak openly about, like racism and culture, or, if we do speak about certain matters, we speak about them in code. An example I commonly give is with the word “diversity.” I have heard many people adopt the usage of the word in ways that defy sense-making. For

example, in reviewing journals, I have seen authors refer to “a group of diverse students” with no explanation of what this term mean. Psychologists: I think that these skills are best accomplished when the professional is fully present and aware of what is happening around them. They therefore are necessarily engaged in actions to attend to their self-care.

Being Healthy: Being Vulnerable

One crucial matter to me as a psychologist is to understand what it means to be healthy. One of the first things I thought about was vulnerability. Vulnerability can mean lots of things, like being honest with yourself with you’re angry, or when you may not have the answers to questions that people expect you to have. Or appearing weak, crazy, or foolish. The point is that we can all get caught up in the idea that when we appear angry, or stupid, or crazy, then there is something wrong with us.

Or maybe we’re not paying attention to what’s affecting us. And then we quash or cover up the feelings. We fail to show our vulnerability, which is our strength. It is a show of our humanity, our realness. Our chapter elder, Dr. Doty Simpson-Taylor was diagnosed last year with cancer. A few months ago, her condition was further challenged by a diagnosis of a complicated hernia that complicated her circulatorysystem. She was told by her doctor that she needed to have emergency surgery. She had to make an instant decision. She felt extremely vulnerable.

“I was scared. I knew that I needed help for my anxiety. I am determined to live another 19 years until I reach the ago of 100 at least, and these health challenges just keep getting in my way,” Simpson-Taylor commented. A natural comedian, Simpson-Taylor spoke with a mixture of humor and sadness about her reaction to the recent diagnosis and her need for emergency surgery, considered risky because of her age.

Dr. Simpson-Taylor knew immediately once she checked into the hospital that she wanted to see a psychologist immediately and on a regular basis. Her doctors arranged it quickly, and she received her first session within 2 days and continued with the therapy for her entire 2 ½ week stay and afterwards. “I had to have it, I knew that it was important to my mental health. I felt vulnerable, anxious, and depressed first and foremost because I thought I might not survive this surgery.”

A veteran and former educator, practitioner, and DEI administrator, Dr. Simpson-Taylor is no shrinking violet. She not only raised a family, but also nurtured hundreds of students, many of whom she has maintained contact with and have housed in their time of need. She also is the oldest of 11 children, all but one are still alive, and she proudly serves as the family matriarch.

Sociopolitical environment can appear to loom far into the background when these very personal challenges emerge, but they’re always with us. For example, Dr. Simpson-Taylor, a life-long advocate for veterans, has always been well-aware of these structural problems at the level of the Veterans Administration. She explained in the interview that the questions that were always present include, “Might there be losses in medical coverage for veterans” “Might the current cuts in budget apply to my recent hospital stay and other health benefits?”

She also is highly attuned to the toll of occupied cities, job losses, and the threat of limited resources on the lives of her very large family. She also is a staunch advocate of suicide prevention, having recently lost two relatives to suicide. Her concern is that practitioners may overlook or downplay the need to talk openly to people about their feelings of hopelessness and despair.

And she never shies away from addressing the outside factors, which she considers an act of love, of not conceding to a silencing around matters that are embedded in our survival as African-descended people.

Sociopolitical factors can be deemed “outside” or irrelevant to psychological functioning and well-being if we absorb common misconceptions about mental health, that is, that contextual and intergenerational factors play have little impact in shaping psyches and behaviors. A wealth of literature in Black, critical, liberation, multicultural, exists as a reservoir for learning how this knowledge can be applied in practice, research, and in theory development. See https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/isrc/resources.html. This knowledge is mandatory for psychology training programs, but be attuned to new founts of knowledge, like those presented at the Association of Black Psychologists annual conferences (https://www.cookman.edu/news/2025/06/abpsi-56th-annual-convention.html#:~:text=July%2030%20%E2%80%93%20August%203%2C%202025%20%7C%20BethuneCookman,International%20Convention%20at%20the%20historic%20Bethune-Cookman%20University%20%28B-CU%29.).

Taking Care of Ourselves During Times of Strife

In my blog post titled “If You Can’t Beat Them,” I lay out suggestions for how we all can be involved or more involved in efforts to address our current societal challenges. In addition to these suggestions, I offer the following: embrace life fully by doing the activities that bring us joy, spending our precious time with our loved ones, celebrating special occasions, and exploring, imbibing in nature in all its wonder. Live in the present rather than obsessively moored to the past or future.

Psychologists, when you find yourself feeling hopeless and anxious, don’t suppress the vulnerability. Address what Eckhart Tolle has called the “pain body,” those deep-seated hurts that thrive on egoic pride. I know I’ve mentioned these sources before in my blog posts, but they’re worth repeating here: Tolle’s A New Earth,” is a true treasure, as are the writings of Linda James Myers, whose work in Optimal Psychology is based in African philosophical traditions..

Psychologist, your universal source is your most precious guide to you as a healer. Get closer to that source with exceptional therapy if and when you need it. There is much to learn during times of strife and struggle.

I thank Doty Simpson-Taylor for sharing her story with me and agreeing to share it in this article. She continues to recover from her surgery and remains active in IABPsi.

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1 The ”Big, Beautiful Bill” was signed on July 4 th by President Trump, creating significant cuts to Medicare, changes to student loans, an end to clearn energy programs, and so forth. These changes may go into effect as early as this year, but some won’t be implemented until 2026 or even 2028. Did you know that Indiana is the third most reliant state on federal funding. This means that utility bills will increase, rural hospital and nursing homes will close, and thousands of Hoosiers will lose SNAP assistance of health care provisions. The implications are considerable. (see https://www.indianahousedemocrats.org/big-ugly-betrayal).