The Myth of Neutrality in Therapy
In most of our clinical training, neutrality has often been held up as the gold standard of practice. We should ride the middle line, stay objective, don’t impose your personal values - these are all seen as essential to an ethical practice. But for the therapists practicing from a liberatory or anti-oppressive framework (especially those of us who are BIPOC), this ideal doesn’t fit. Neutrality doesn’t fully acknowledge or address the realities shaping many of our clients’ experiences. It ignores the systemic forces that contribute to their pain and suffering (your -isms and the like) and misses critical healing opportunities that require confronting those forces directly. At worst, neutrality is harmful because it reiterates a pattern of erasure and invalidation. And for us, as therapists who share or witness those realities, neutrality can mean distancing ourselves from the political and embodied pain that our clients carry every day. Who can truly foster compassion and connection in an environment where they aren’t able to bring their full selves into the room and be affirmed in their experiences? When therapists insist on “staying neutral,” they uphold oppressive systems by refusing to name or challenge injustice when it arises. This silence can feel like abandonment to our clients.
Many of us were taught to compartmentalize our identities, values, and lived experience, to “leave them at the door” when we enter the therapy room. But what happens when your identity and your ethics are inseparable from your clinical lens? The experiences you bring as a Black, Indigenous, or therapist of color, as a queer or trans clinician, or as someone committed to anti-oppression shape how you understand healing, justice, and care. What we need are spaces, both in the therapy room and in our professional communities where:
The full complexity of our identities and values are welcomed,
Therapists can show up as their whole selves without fear of judgment, tokenization, or educators, and
Clinical expertise and liberation are not seen as contradictory, but as deeply intertwined.
This is why I created The Therapeutic Table — a community for therapists committed to practicing from a liberatory, anti-oppressive, and deeply human-centered framework. Inside this space, we gather to share resources, hold space for challenging conversations, and support each other’s growth by centering our experiences. If you have felt the tension between the expectation of clinical neutrality and your lived truth, or if you’re looking for a community that understands and embraces the full scope of your work and your values, I invite you to take your seat at The Therapeutic Table.
Together, we can reimagine what therapy can be—rooted in justice, nuance, and collective care.
#QTNA. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
What would shift if we centered truth over neutrality in our therapy rooms?
We are currently seeking Founding Members for The Therapeutic Table and invite you to submit an application!
Founding members will receive:
⭐️ Early access to the community platform
⭐️ First look at our discussion spaces and resource libraries
⭐️ Invitations to test our live events and wellness offerings
⭐️ A voice in shaping what comes next
⭐️ Deep gratitude and a discounted membership (50% for the first 2 months!) as a thank you for your time and insight
If you’re interested, complete this application here ➡️ Founding Membership application
If you’re interested, but don’t want to do the whole Founding Membership,
sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when we launch to the general public ➡️ Sign up for the newsletter
