Dear Friends of FAIR,
FAIR challenges ideological mandates and discriminatory practices that undermine civil rights, free inquiry, and evidence-based practice across our institutions. Increasingly, those same pressures of conformity, self-censorship, and reduced viewpoint diversity are also affecting mental healthcare.
Therapists are granted extraordinary access to people’s private thoughts, moral conflicts, family relationships, religious commitments, political beliefs, and fears about belonging. When ideological assumptions quietly become part of clinical “best practices,” patients can be steered, silenced, misdirected, or misunderstood, often without realizing it. The real consequences of ideologically driven therapy are evident and lasting in people’s lives.
Last week, we announced FAIR’s first long-form continuing education course, offering a way forward: Culture in Psychotherapy Without the Corrosion of Identity Politics - A Bipartisan, Pro-Human Model.
This week, we highlight the work of the Open Therapy Institute (OTI), an important complement to FAIR. OTI addresses concerns frequently raised by clinicians, educators, and patients: how politicized ideas and institutional blind spots can influence mental health care, affecting trust, clinical judgment, and outcomes.
Open Therapy Institute is asking questions that are surprisingly difficult to ask in mental health training programs:
What happens when ideological consensus replaces clinical curiosity?
How does political or moral certainty affect therapeutic neutrality and trust?
Who is left underserved or harmed when clinicians are trained to see some identities, beliefs, or professions primarily through a political lens?
By documenting blind spots, whether in men’s mental health, religious patients, law enforcement, or the effects of self-censorship, the Open Therapy Institute advances the same goals FAIR champions: open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and institutional integrity. Like FAIR, OTI does not argue for a political outcome; they seek better questions, better evidence, and better care.
We encourage our readers, especially clinicians, educators, and those who work in mental health or adjacent fields, to explore OTI’s resources.
In addition, for a limited time, OTI is offering exclusive discounts to FAIR members.
FAIR Member Discount
Through March 31, 2026, FAIR members receive:
$20 off your first year of OTI membership
$15 off OTI on-demand workshops
👉 Use code FAIR-OTI at checkout
If you’re a mental health professional or work closely with one, you will find OTI’s resources and FAIR’s new training invaluable.
Support Our Mission and Our Collaborators Through Donations
Your generous support enables us to continue developing resources and advocating for unbiased practices in therapy and beyond.
Please consider supporting FAIR today: Donate to Fair For All.
Likewise, to help OTI advance evidence-based therapy donate here.
With Gratitude,
The Fair for All Team
Amid today’s culture wars, Identity Politics corrodes the teaching and practice of psychotherapy, especially in the widely-misunderstood realm of “culture” and “diversity.” Many people on both sides feel distrustful, alienated, and/or demoralized. This course gives a structural model for clinical work that re-enlivens moral depth — without moralism. The goal is to clarify concepts and conflicts that impact daily life and clinical settings. It aims to facilitate engagement with patients and colleagues — and within ourselves — even as we grapple with vital and controversial issues.
FAIR Educator Alliance 2025-2026
FAIR is launching the Educators Alliance for the 2025–2026 school year to equip PK–12 educators with the knowledge, strategies, and community support they need to foster schools that are more enriching and free from bias for students and educators.
Each monthly gathering will open with updates and presentations from FAIR staff, fellows, Chapter Leaders, and occasional guest speakers. Together, we’ll explore strategies for supporting educators, communities, and local chapters—and for advancing positive change at the local, regional, and national levels. Following presentations, participants will have space for open forum discussions to connect, seek advice, and coordinate on pressing issues in their schools. Breakout rooms will be divided into PK-6 and 7-12 grade levels with experienced teachers facilitating those conversations.
Meetings: First Thursday of each month at 7 PM ET via Zoom
Duration: 1 hour
FAIR News Podcast
For audio versions of our FAIR News and FAIR Weekly Roundup newsletters, subscribe and listen to FAIR News Weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or via RSS feed.
Join the FAIR Community
Join us, and become a member of FAIR.
Become a FAIR volunteer, or join a FAIR chapter.
Sign-up for a Welcome to FAIR Zoom information session to learn more about our mission.
Share your reviews and incident reports on our FAIR Transparency website.
Thank you for spotlighting the Open Therapy Institute (OTI)! If anyone has questions about OTI, please email us at info@opentherapyinstitute.org. We hope you will get involved!
Addressing only identity politics will not accomplish much because identity politics is just a result (symptom) of post-modernist critical theory. The social sciences are now founded on critical theory. To solve any issue you need to get to root cause.