Does It Matter What Your Therapist Thinks About Israel?

"'I understand why you feel the way you do, and I don't think that we see fully eye to eye on this either. I respect that you have a lot of empathy and that you're very troubled by this. And if it's important that we have a conversation of equal opinion, then that might not be a productive conversation for us.'"

"They moved on to other topics, but soon after the session, over email, Charlotte ended the relationship. She now sees a non-Jewish anti-Zionist therapist who she said understands her rage and grief but doesn't quite grasp what she calls the 'existential dark despair' of being Jewish right now. She thinks about her former therapist sometimes but doesn't regret the switch."

Charlotte, a Jewish young professional in her mid-30s from Bushwick, began therapy after a serious mental-health crisis in 2021. The therapist did not disclose political views but appeared to be a fairly observant Jew. Before October 7, Charlotte identified as pro-Palestine and received a neutral response. After October 7, Charlotte felt she needed explicit solidarity in sessions and believed her therapist could not provide it. The therapist acknowledged their differing perspectives and suggested an equal-opinion conversation might not be productive. Charlotte ended the relationship by email and now sees a non-Jewish anti-Zionist therapist who better matches her current emotional needs.

Read at Intelligencer