Is Psychotherapy Self-Indulgent in the World Today?

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Audre Lord

We are living in trying, divided times, no doubt about it. World events seem to endlessly rattle through the seismograph of our consciousness, hour after hour slowly churning into an underlying sense of impending doom and anxiety. It’s hard not to feel hopeless, helpless and alienated. Most of us feel too exhausted at the end of the workday to sign a petition saving the planet from imminent death and destruction let alone take care of all the other stuff going on in our personal lives.

 

The notion of self care may seem self indulgent in times like these but the kind of self-care I am referring to does not just mean only caring about yourself. I would argue that psychotherapy, as one important practice of self-care, can be seen as politically, socially and ethically responsible.