7bet gaming or sevenbet Applying Psychotherapy to Heal Our Political Divide

To the Editor:

Re “Lessons From Couples Therapy Can Help a Divided Nation,” by Orna Guralnik (Opinion guest essay, Dec. 1):

As a clinical social worker and psychotherapist for 40 years, I read Dr. Guralnik’s essay with great interest. I too have grave concerns about the ways in which “splitting” (dividing our perceptions of people into either all good or all bad) damages the possibility of human connection across different worldviews.

I struggle with negotiating the line between being empathetic and being complicit when the person I wish to connect with holds racist, sexist, misogynistic or anti-democratic views that go directly against my deeply held beliefs.

One factor that Dr. Guralnik doesn’t mention is the amplification of conspiracy theories in the public sphere. There is a difference between opinions and facts not in dispute. If the person I am attempting to connect with insists on disputing those facts, the conversation either lags or quickly digresses into irresolvable argument.

As an example, if I express concerns about electing a president who is a convicted felon, and the other person says that he was not in fact convicted, then no amount of empathy on my part will make any difference. We will remain as estranged as ever.

I appreciate Dr. Guralnik’s optimism, but still struggle to share it.

Greg NooneySioux City, Iowa

To the Editor:

I would like to add a thought to my fellow psychoanalyst’s perceptive understanding of the emotional dynamics plaguing our country.

Dr. Orna Guralnik explains how splitting ourselves and others into simplistic categories of good or bad is creating the seemingly unbridgeable rift between the left and right. I couldn’t agree more and would add that the result has been mutual contempt.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

The accountability office said many of those systems “have critical operational impacts” on air traffic safety and efficiency. Many of them are also facing “challenges that are historically problematic for aging systems,” according to the report.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.7bet gaming or sevenbet