Research

The Open Therapy Institute is working to understand issues in mental health that are overlooked because of socio-political bias. We aim to develop a robust knowledge base on these topics: gathering data to assess problems, developing evidence-based clinical tools, supporting case studies, and facilitating theoretical papers with diverse perspectives.

Report on Overlooked Issues

The Open Therapy Institute is drafting a report on issues, perspectives, and patient populations that are overlooked because of socio-political bias. We have over 30 scholars, writing on over 50 such issues, which include:

  • Political Stresses

    - Mental health costs of DEI ideology and training

    - How socio-political dynamics shape OCD and anxiety disorders

    - The politicization of universities and campus culture

  • Self-Censorship

    - The impact of self-censorship on mental health

    - The role of self-censorship in social/institutional dynamics

    - Clinical interventions that help people overcome self-censorship

  • Masculinity Issues

    - Adolescent development issues in cultures with anti-masculine attitudes

    - Men’s issues in couples/marriage counseling

    - Anti-male bias and aggression in schools, media, and the workplace

  • Anti-White Bias and Aggression

    - How anti-white bias is culturally normalized

    - Anti-white aggression: violent attacks and effects on victims and their families

    - Anti-white bullying in schools

  • Understanding Dysfunctional Cultural Dynamics

    - Authoritarian character structure in contemporary society

    - The social and psychological impact of the politicization of arts and entertainment

    - Conformity dynamics in contemporary society: what causes them, and how to overcome them

  • Socio-Political Bias

    - False assumptions about mental health in activist discourse

    - Understanding clinical skills with patients that have diverse viewpoints

    - Political bias and the replicability crisis

  • Working with Religious Patients

    - Clinical competency with religious patients

    - Faith-based interventions in psychotherapy

    - Religious/spiritual values in mental health

  • Issues Related to Conservatives

    - Clinical competency with conservatives

    - Socio-political values and the therapeutic relationship

    - Transference and Countertransference related to viewpoint issues

  • Overlooked Clinical Populations

    - Women with abortion regret

    - Gun owners: mental health and culturally competent care for gun owners

    - Jewish patients: understanding issues related to antisemitism

Research Leadership

  • Richard Redding, J.D., Ph.D.

    Richard Redding is a professor of Psychology and Education and Ronald D. Rotunda Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence, at Chapman University. He was previously a professor at Villanova University, Drexel University, and the University of Virginia. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Psychological Science. Among Dr. Redding's publications are "Sociopolitical Diversity in Psychology: The Case for Pluralism" (American Psychologist, 2023), "Sociopolitical Values: The Neglected Factor in Culturally-Competent Psychotherapy" (in Prejudice, Stigma, Privilege, and Oppression: A Behavioral Health Handbook, 2020), Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology: Nature, Scope, and Solutions" (Springer, 2023), and "Sociopolitical Values as the Deep Culture in Culturally-Competent Psychotherapy" (Clinical Psychological Science, 2023).

  • Craig Frisby, Ph.D.

    Craig Frisby recently retired from the School Psychology training program at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has been an associate editor for the journals School Psychology Review and Psychological Assessment, and he is currently associate editor for the Journal of Open Inquiry in Behavioral Science. He serves on the American Institutes for Research (AIR) National Center on Intensive Intervention Academic Screening Technical Review Committee. He is the co-editor for the “Comprehensive Handbook of Multicultural School Psychology,” “Cultural Competence in Applied Psychology,” and is the author of “Meeting the Psychoeducational Needs of Minority Students.” He is the lead editor for an upcoming book to be published in 2022-23 entitled “Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology: Nature, Scope and Solutions.” 

  • Val Thomas, DPsych, FHEA

    Val Thomas is a UK-based psychotherapist, writer, and formerly a counsellor educator. Recently, she has focused on drawing attention to the encroachments of Critical Social Justice on the therapy field. She co-founded the online platform Critical Therapy Antidote and recently edited a book of essays, “Cynical Therapies: Perspectives on the Antitherapeutic nature of Critical Social Justice.” She has also published two other books “Using Mental Imagery in Counselling and Psychotherapy” and “Using Mental Imagery to Enhance Creative and Work-Related processes.”