Dear Friends of FAIR,
The culture wars have infiltrated every corner of American life, including the clinical practice of mental health professionals. Increasingly, clinicians find themselves navigating treacherous terrain where concepts like “culture” and “diversity” have become ideologically charged, leaving many clinicians feeling distrustful, alienated, or demoralized regardless of their political perspective.
On February 15th, FAIR is proud to present a three-hour continuing education webinar that offers a way forward: Culture in Psychotherapy Without the Corrosion of Identity Politics – A Bipartisan, Pro-Human Model.
Identity politics has fundamentally altered how culture and diversity are understood in clinical settings. Rather than deepening therapeutic relationships and cultural competence, current approaches often create division, restrict open dialogue, and undermine the moral depth that effective therapy requires. Mental health professionals across the political spectrum report feeling constrained, unsure how to honor genuine cultural differences without stepping on ideological landmines, or how to engage authentically with patients whose backgrounds and values differ from their own.
This isn’t an abstract professional concern. When therapists are compelled to navigate identity politics rather than focus on their patients’ well-being, the therapeutic alliance suffers. When training programs prioritize ideological conformity over intellectual diversity, the field loses crucial perspectives. When moral complexity gets reduced to simplistic frameworks, clinicians fail the people they’re meant to serve.
Dr. Douglas Novotny, Ph.D., brings a structural model for clinical work that re-enlivens moral depth without moralism. Drawing on research showing that ideological diversity — the ability to see topics from different points of view — actually improves psychological practice, this course offers practical frameworks for understanding cultural differences that transcend political polarization.
Central to Dr. Novotny’s approach is Jonathan Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory, which provides a cultural lens for grasping differences across cultures, within cultures, and in the daily experiences of the clients and students therapists encounter. Rather than reducing cultural competence to demographic categories or political orthodoxies, this model helps clinicians understand the deep moral structures that shape how different people experience and navigate the world.
The course explores specific clinical applications, including the often-overlooked clinical utility of understanding moral foundations like disgust, loyalty, and sanctity. Participants will examine how this structural model explains both interpersonal divisions (between people) and intrapsychic divisions (within individuals), and explore practical ways to bridge those divisions through genuine cultural understanding and relational attunement.
The course also critically examines competing moral models and welcomes thoughtful critique, modeling the intellectual humility and openness it advocates. This is education that respects practitioners’ intelligence and moral seriousness rather than prescribing ideological positions.
At FAIR, we believe that moving beyond polarization requires more than good intentions; it requires better frameworks for understanding human difference and commonality. This webinar exemplifies our commitment to practical solutions that honor both individual dignity and shared humanity, that take culture seriously without reducing people to demographic categories, and that create space for genuine engagement across differences.
Mental health professionals occupy a unique position in our culture. The frameworks they use, the questions they ask, and the assumptions they bring to their work ripple outward, shaping not just individual clients but families, communities, and the broader culture. Supporting therapists in developing more nuanced, genuinely therapeutic approaches to culture and diversity serves our broader mission of building a society where all people are treated as individuals.
Whether you’re a practicing clinician struggling with how to navigate cultural issues authentically, a trainer concerned about ideological constraints in professional education, or someone committed to a more humane and effective approach to psychological practice, this webinar offers both intellectual resources and practical guidance.
With gratitude,
Monica Harris
Executive Director
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
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As part of this, there's a great paper about how blinders led to conversion therapy and its harms for gay people and now has led to similar mistakes being made regarding the trans community. In the fields of psychotherapy and psychiatry.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00207578.2025.2591921
Politicization has led to ignoring the medical questions that should be answered, the evidence questions, replacing it with identity-based name calling.
Thank you for doing this!