27. Robin Atkins, LMHC: Two Therapists Debate Abortion

Abortion is a fraught issue many people can hardly step near without turning red. I’m pro-choice, while my colleague, Robin Atkins, LMHC, is pro-life. Yet we’re not at each other’s throats. What’s our secret?

The magic happens when we lead with what we agree on: that people need to get better at having nuanced, respectful dialogues about contentious issues. As professional communicators who spend many of our waking hours helping vulnerable people explore different subject matter, who better than Robin and I to give it a go?

In this raw, nuanced, and sobering deep-dive, we examine the many facets of the issue of abortion, including conflicts of values such as care, safety, sanctity, compassion, protection, liberty, welfare, and bodily autonomy. We explore the needs of women and children, and the various ways in which these can be seen as at odds versus in harmony with one another. We explore existential dilemmas, including the meaning of life and when it begins; our understanding of sentience; our valuation of human and non human life forms; and our relationship with death. We talk explicitly about sexual assault and other situations involving trauma and violation of consent. Robin also bravely shares how her personal experience of traumatic abortion affected her views. And we illuminate how therapists can compartmentalize our own politics and morals while helping clients make choices that suit their own worldviews. 

Robin Atkins is the chair of the mental health subsection of AAPLOG. As a licensed mental health counselor, Robin has been in practice for over 15 years with a specialty in reproductive issues (including infertility, high-risk pregnancy, traumatic birth, postpartum depression and anxiety, perinatal hospice and palliative care, pregnancy loss, infant loss, adoption, and abortion) since 2015. Robin received her BA in Philosophy and BS in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University. While growing her family, Robin completed her MA in Professional Counseling from Liberty University and obtained licensure in the state of Indiana. 

Robin’s personal experiences with pregnancy and loss formed her passion for walking alongside women, men, and families experiencing complications during reproductive journeys. Robin opened her private practice, Charis et Veritas, in 2015 and began speaking on topics related to mental health and reproduction including perinatal hospice and palliative care, mental health complications after abortion, and post-abortive healing. Robin completed her Deeper Still retreat in 2019 to further her own healing from abortion.

You can follow Robin on Twitter @truthagape.

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Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.

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