About the Webinar:

Political identity has become one of the most emotionally charged forces shaping families and communities today, and these tensions inevitably show up in the therapy room. For many clinicians, navigating political differences with clients can evoke powerful transference and countertransference reactions that can challenge our sense of neutrality, compassion, and therapeutic presence. At the same time, systemic work often places us in the middle of families with deeply conflicting political identities, where maintaining multipartiality requires both skill and self-awareness.

This webinar explores how marriage and family therapists can remain grounded, ethical, and relationally attuned amid political polarization. We will examine how political identity activates the therapist’s internal world, how to recognize and manage countertransference without abandoning clients, and how to hold steady when a client’s worldview conflicts with our own. Through a systemic lens, we will consider what multipartiality looks like in families divided by politics and explore meaningful strategies for staying present, fostering connection, and protecting the therapeutic alliance, especially when the work becomes personally challenging.

Rather than offering judgment or prescriptive rules, this conversation invites clinicians to deeper reflection on our values, ethical responsibilities, and our role in helping families bridge divides during one of the most polarized eras in American life.

REGISTER NOW

About the Speaker:

Dr. Jude Austin is an Associate Professor in the Counseling Program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where he serves as the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Track Coordinator. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor, and he is known for his engaging, down-to-earth approach to counselor training, supervision, and clinical practice.

Dr. Austin is the co-author of several books for counselors, including Mind Your Business: Merging Meaningful Work with Financial Wisdom, forthcoming in February through the American Counseling Association. He is a frequent keynote speaker, including serving as an ACA Conference keynote presenter. He is invited nationally to speak on counselor development, therapeutic presence, self-care, and the realities of doing meaningful clinical work in a complex world.

His clinical work focuses on couples, families, and individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, communication and intimacy issues, attachment wounds, and life transitions. Across his teaching, supervision, speaking, and writing, Dr. Austin is known for his authenticity, humor, and his ability to help emerging counselors feel both challenged and supported. He is committed to developing clinicians who are not only skilled but grounded, ethical, and deeply human in their work.