Wendy. Periodically.

Conspiracy theory people have been on my mind. Why? Do I even have to say why? If you live in this world, you probably know someone (or it’s you!) who believes in at least one conspiracy theory. I researched information on this topic yesterday and found the following information in a Psychology Today article as to what is behind our conspiracy behavior,

“Researchers reported in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science that the reasons for believing in conspiracy theories include the need for certainty, the need for control over one’s life, the need for a positive self-image as well as the desire to feel unique.”

Counseling someone who is a conspiracy theorist is tough - especially if they are coming to therapy for other reasons. Are we there to change their beliefs? I don’t know, I don’t think so, and I am not sure we can. I know I want to! One can argue quite well that the hole that conspiracy theorists go down does cause them stress, stress to others, possible harm to others, depression, and the spread of misinformation which is detrimental to our society. 

Intervening, I suppose, depends on what the belief is.  We do engage in changing belief systems for the purposes of goal attainment, changing distorted thinking, and for managing responses to provoking stimuli that causes our clients distress. We do this with the client’s consent for their stated goals. 

Teaching critical thinking skills, working on healthy responses to fear, learning to live with uncertainty, accepting what we control and don’t, and working on self image all seem possible for us to focus on while the client is in counseling. Maybe this will impact their fear-based beliefs??