Why Licensed Clinical Social Work Therapy is inherently Political
There is a widespread belief that therapists, and licensed clinical social workers in particular, should remain neutral, apolitical, or separate from social issues. I’m here to debunk this. Social work has never been neutral, and expecting it to be misunderstands both our profession and our ethical responsibility. When I was in undergraduate school I interviewed a Neuropsychologist and an LCSW. I choose the social work path because it fit with my values the most. The social work field in also very misunderstood. Someone can work in social work with a bachelors. A licensed clinical social worker has a masters degree with classes involving psychology, psychotherapy, ethics, and system issues. In addition to this after graduate school they are supervised for an additional 3,500 hours + an exam. It takes about 4-5 years to be fully licensed once starting a master’s degree.
As an LCSW, my work is rooted in understanding how individual suffering is shaped by systems of power, policy, and inequality. Mental health care is inseparable from the environments and systems that impact people’s lives. The nervous system does not exist outside of the conditions it must survive.
Social Work Has Always Been Political
Social work was born in response to systemic harm—poverty, racism, immigration crises, labor exploitation, gender-based violence, and exclusion from care. Early on, the profession has asked not just “What is happening to this person?” but “What is happening around them?”
When we treat anxiety, depression, trauma, or chronic stress without acknowledging the social forces that produce and sustain those experiences, we risk pathologizing survival. That’s a whole different post when it comes to pathologizing in the mental health field.
The Ethical Code Demands More Than Neutrality
The social work code of ethics calls us to:
Challenge social injustice
Protect the dignity and worth of every person
Advocate for marginalized and oppressed communities
These are not passive values. They require us to name harm when we see it, and especially when that harm is systemic, state-sanctioned, and ongoing.
Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality. It is alignment with existing power structures.
Immigration Enforcement Is a Mental Health Issue
What immigration enforcement agencies are doing right now is not just a political issue, it is a mental health and public health crisis, particularly for BIPOC communities.
Many people in the therapy field work alongside people whose lives are shaped by:
Constant fear of detention, deportation, or family separation
Chronic hypervigilance and nervous system dysregulation
Trauma responses triggered by law enforcement presence
Children experiencing toxic stress due to instability
Survivors of violence afraid to seek help out of fear of being reported
Racism in Asheville, and yes it happens. I hear the stories.
These are not rare or exaggerated outcomes. They are the predictable psychological consequences of policies that rely on fear, punishment, and dehumanization.
ICE, State Violence, and Compounded Harm
I oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it currently operates because of the inhumane harm it causes, harm that is disproportionately carried by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, immigrants, and mixed-status families.
For LGBTQIA+ and especially trans people, that harm is intensified:
Higher risk of violence and abuse in detention
Denial of gender-affirming medical care
Misgendering, isolation, and psychological degradation
Fear of accessing healthcare, housing, or crisis support
These conditions create trauma not only for those directly targeted, but for entire communities living under threat. Something important to remember is that the body does not need to be detained to experience harm—anticipatory fear alone is enough to dysregulate the nervous system.
Therapy Does Not Exist Outside Systems of Power
Politics enter the therapy room whether we acknowledge them or not. This shows up in a client’s body, sleep, symptoms, relationships, and sense of safety.
For clients who are:
Immigrants or children of immigrants
BIPOC
LGBTQIA+ or trans
Living at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities
Their distress is often a rational response to unjust conditions.
My role as a therapist is not to tell clients what to believe.
My role is to:
Name systemic harm when it impacts mental health
Avoid pathologizing survival responses
Validate lived experience without minimizing or spiritualizing oppression
Support regulation, agency, and healing in the context of real-world constraints
I will not ask clients to “cope better” with harm while ignoring the source of that harm.
What Clients Can Expect From Me
This is important as well and something I would like to name. You do not need to share my political beliefs to work with me.
What you can expect is:
A trauma-informed, systems-aware approach
Affirming care for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+/trans clients
An understanding of how power, policy, and identity shape mental health
A therapeutic space that does not deny or erase lived realities
Safety to explore your own beliefs without judgement
Why I Choose Transparency
I believe clients deserve transparency about the values guiding their therapist’s work, especially when those values relate to safety, dignity, and care.
For me, being an LCSW means:
Caring about the nervous system as well as the systems that shape it
Supporting individual healing while naming collective harm
Refusing false neutrality in the face of injustice
Social work is political because people’s lives are political whether one chooses to engage or not. Connection is the cornerstone of collective healing, and we are able to reach further into community starting with caring for our own well-being to be able to extend this care into the world in whatever way you find meaningful.
