I am not surprised that Republicans of all religious leanings are more reluctant to seek help from mental health counselors than political liberals are. There is a whole movement in mental health counseling right now on the "ethical duty" of mental health professionals to "educate" clients on anti-racism and social justice as part of normal clinic visits. There are also ever-expanding mandatory reporter guidelines on when a counselor must report a client for being a threat to others. This, combined with the fact that politically- or culturally-conservative counselors are rare as hens' teeth, provide disincentives for conservatives to seek counseling.
If I'm politically conservative and suffering from depression, do I go back if the first part of my visit was spent on a lesson on structural racism? Do I tell my friends to see a counselor after that happens, even if I truly believe they need help? If I know I'm suffering from anxiety, do I tell a counselor that a source of my anxiety is my 7-year-old homeschooled daughter playing outside with no supervision, or am I risking having her taken away?
I'm not an American conservative, and I wouldn't see an American counselor knowing what I know about current practice in American counseling.
Thank you for the link to the very interesting article, Bob! I appreciate it.
I will note, though, that it's from 2015. I think that the proportion of liberal:conservative counselors may have even increased since then. Certainly, ideas about "best practices" in counseling have changed since then--especially during Peak Woke years of 2020-2022.
For instance, prior to 2021, no one argued that counselors had a duty to "educate" patients on anti-racism as part of standard practice, but this is now a common recommendation in medical education. Similarly, the disparity between crunchy conservative views on "free-range childhoods" vs. urban liberal views on protecting children from "trauma" has sharpened dramatically since 2015. Even notions about what "conservative" and "liberal" positions on some topics are have changed since then.
This must be an extraordinarily difficult offshoot of a survey to bundle with other things. As the video showed, sometimes the healer is the first responder. Typically, in the medical world, that is the primary doctor, which is why Valium was the most common prescription in my residency era and prozac got popularity as soon as it came out. First responders are often teachers or dorm RAs. There is also a difference between people seeking help and an outsider referring a person to a professional resource. The spectrum of what psychologists address differs a lot from what clergy try to remedy. Tensions with the boss or irritation with the kids differs quite a lot from disabling depression or anxiety that has no external trigger.
The survey does not seem to distinguish between who the affected person seeks out and who the observer refers them to. No doubt a physician will send a patient to a mental hygiene colleague. A clergyman who observes a congregant in distress may tackle the problem himself without referral. A boss who finds an employee underperforming or disrupting the team may have HR handle this, and not voluntarily on the part of the person, who may not think a problem exists.
My Jewish lenses found no surprise in that we trust our shrinks more than our rabbis.
I'm actually pleasantly surprised that Evangelicals score as high on comfort with mental health specialists as they do. I know many Evangelicals who are vocally against anything linked to modern psychology. It's easy to think that a vocal minority represents the rest of the community. I'm encouraged that this appears to not be the case in this instance!
Interesting study here Ryan. I am curious in the evangelical world if it's just men talking to men type of thing. Whereas, in other religious setting they may seek out a therapist for a certain set of problems and their Pastor in another. I can say with certainty that I am more comfortable talking to my Pastor about my problems since he's known me for more than enough years and has seen me at my worst and best. Caveat here, he's very approachable and understanding. He's retired now, but when faced not long ago with some extremely life changing issues and the moral an ethical questions I had when I faced those issues, he was totally keyed in, answered questions I hadn't even asked myself and heard me. He listened.
I am not surprised that Republicans of all religious leanings are more reluctant to seek help from mental health counselors than political liberals are. There is a whole movement in mental health counseling right now on the "ethical duty" of mental health professionals to "educate" clients on anti-racism and social justice as part of normal clinic visits. There are also ever-expanding mandatory reporter guidelines on when a counselor must report a client for being a threat to others. This, combined with the fact that politically- or culturally-conservative counselors are rare as hens' teeth, provide disincentives for conservatives to seek counseling.
If I'm politically conservative and suffering from depression, do I go back if the first part of my visit was spent on a lesson on structural racism? Do I tell my friends to see a counselor after that happens, even if I truly believe they need help? If I know I'm suffering from anxiety, do I tell a counselor that a source of my anxiety is my 7-year-old homeschooled daughter playing outside with no supervision, or am I risking having her taken away?
I'm not an American conservative, and I wouldn't see an American counselor knowing what I know about current practice in American counseling.
Some find liberals outnumber conservatives 14-1 in the psychology field. The two groups have very different worldviews and ways of responding to personal problems. https://theconversation.com/psychologists-are-known-for-being-liberal-but-is-that-because-they-understand-how-people-think-44066
Thank you for the link to the very interesting article, Bob! I appreciate it.
I will note, though, that it's from 2015. I think that the proportion of liberal:conservative counselors may have even increased since then. Certainly, ideas about "best practices" in counseling have changed since then--especially during Peak Woke years of 2020-2022.
For instance, prior to 2021, no one argued that counselors had a duty to "educate" patients on anti-racism as part of standard practice, but this is now a common recommendation in medical education. Similarly, the disparity between crunchy conservative views on "free-range childhoods" vs. urban liberal views on protecting children from "trauma" has sharpened dramatically since 2015. Even notions about what "conservative" and "liberal" positions on some topics are have changed since then.
Good point. The gap is even wider now.
This must be an extraordinarily difficult offshoot of a survey to bundle with other things. As the video showed, sometimes the healer is the first responder. Typically, in the medical world, that is the primary doctor, which is why Valium was the most common prescription in my residency era and prozac got popularity as soon as it came out. First responders are often teachers or dorm RAs. There is also a difference between people seeking help and an outsider referring a person to a professional resource. The spectrum of what psychologists address differs a lot from what clergy try to remedy. Tensions with the boss or irritation with the kids differs quite a lot from disabling depression or anxiety that has no external trigger.
The survey does not seem to distinguish between who the affected person seeks out and who the observer refers them to. No doubt a physician will send a patient to a mental hygiene colleague. A clergyman who observes a congregant in distress may tackle the problem himself without referral. A boss who finds an employee underperforming or disrupting the team may have HR handle this, and not voluntarily on the part of the person, who may not think a problem exists.
My Jewish lenses found no surprise in that we trust our shrinks more than our rabbis.
I'm actually pleasantly surprised that Evangelicals score as high on comfort with mental health specialists as they do. I know many Evangelicals who are vocally against anything linked to modern psychology. It's easy to think that a vocal minority represents the rest of the community. I'm encouraged that this appears to not be the case in this instance!
Interesting study here Ryan. I am curious in the evangelical world if it's just men talking to men type of thing. Whereas, in other religious setting they may seek out a therapist for a certain set of problems and their Pastor in another. I can say with certainty that I am more comfortable talking to my Pastor about my problems since he's known me for more than enough years and has seen me at my worst and best. Caveat here, he's very approachable and understanding. He's retired now, but when faced not long ago with some extremely life changing issues and the moral an ethical questions I had when I faced those issues, he was totally keyed in, answered questions I hadn't even asked myself and heard me. He listened.