Slowing Down to Bridge the Divide from Sarah
July 2025
As a therapist and a person, I often see how the pressure to do more and move faster impacts my clients and myself everyday. With the changes in our country, political unrest, and societal divisions, there is a rush to react, take sides, and fix things. But I have learned that real growth and change, both in therapy and in life, often happens when we slow down and connect with ourselves and with others.
Recently, I attended the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in Washington, DC and had the opportunity to listen to a panel with Esther Perel, LMFT (psychotherapist and NY Times bestselling author), Monica Guzman (journalist and author), and William Doherty, PhD (professor and director at University of Minnesota). They spoke about the importance of bridging divides and braving new conversations in an increasingly polarized world. They warned us that if we stop having these hard conversations, the only thing that is left is violence, hatred, and fear. Engagement in a discourse does not mean you endorse the other side… but it does create a new space. A space where maybe, just maybe, we can find a common ground to land on.
Their words struck me deeply—especially the idea that, instead of rushing to defend our opinions, we must slow down, regulate our fears, and build curiosity. Only then can we begin to understand differing perspectives and build connections where division exists.
In therapy, I encourage clients to pause, reflect, and sit with difficult emotions instead of rushing to solve them. This willingness to slow down and face discomfort allows for deeper understanding and healing. I found myself reflecting on some of the words from the conference. Is slowing ourselves down a way to navigate societal divisions? As scary and painful as it may be, can leaning in with curiosity be a way to build mutual respect and find common ground, even in these circumstances? Is this a way to bridge divides that seem impossible to cross?
I don’t have the answers. But I do know that slowing down helps us connect in a way that we often miss when we are rushing too fast to defend, change, and fix. It’s in those moments of pause, when we stop to listen and reflect, that real transformation can happen —whether healing ourselves, our relationships, or bridging divides.