Very Bad Therapy

What is the role of a couples therapist in deciding whether a couple stays together or separates? In this episode, Sade Kammen shares their experience trying to navigate the impact of racism in their relationship, only to be met with unusual and unhelpful therapeutic interventions. Plus, we familiarize ourselves with the wonderfully curious idea of empirically-supported bullshit.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:28 Part One: 6:28 – 53:31 Part Two: 53:31 – 1:06:31   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Show Notes: Donate to NAACP Sade Kammen: TikTok | Instagram | Intergenerational Podcast This Place Is Full of It: Towards an Organizational Bullshit Perception Scale Package pricing comes with risks for therapists Microaggressions: Strong Claims, Inadequate Evidence Microaggressions: Clarification, Evidence, and Impact Microaggressions and

Halina Brooke rejoins us to share her story of bad therapy and resulting experience with the board complaint process. This episode is a bingo card of what not to do as a therapist: drink alcohol in session, send barrages of shaming texts to a client, weaponize client disclosures against them, cyberstalking, and more. When an interview begins with a legal disclaimer, you know some very bad therapy took place.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:42 Part One: 6:42 – 1:20:33 Part Two: 1:20:33 – 1:29:50   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Show Notes: Donate to the ASPCA Halina Brooke’s Website: Recourse Counseling A Randomized Trial of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Versus General Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder A Randomized Trial of Dialectical Behavior Therapy in High-Risk Suicidal Veterans Zombie movies prepared you

When things go very wrong in therapy, clients often have the option of filing a complaint with the therapist’s licensing board. In this episode, Rebecca shares her experience of bad therapy and subsequent frustrations with the board hearings, and Halina Brooke joins us to talk about what clients and therapists need to know about the complaint process.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 4:39 Part One: 4:39 – 37:49 Part Two: 37:49 – 1:20:00 Part Three: 1:20:00 – 1:24:51   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Show Notes: Donate to Phoenix Rescue Mission Halina Brooke’s Website: Recourse Counseling Does Distanced Self-Talk Facilitate Emotion Regulation Across a Range of Emotionally Intense Experiences? Why You Should Talk to Yourself in the Third Person

What can therapists do to provide culturally humble services to clients? Being curious is a good start, and not asking for evidence of racial bias should be an easy next step. In this episode, Grace shares her experience as a woman of color having to justify the impact of racism to her white therapist, and Farah Zerehi joins us to discuss the social justice critiques of “expert” approaches to therapy.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 3:48 Part One: 3:48 – 43:04 Part Two: 43:04 – 1:28:26 Part Three: 1:28:26 – 1:32:35   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Show Notes: Donate to The Loveland Foundation Grace Frösén’s Instagram and Comic Strips on Therapy Farah Zerehi’s Twitter Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Therapy (From An Actual Therapist) People Revealed The Toxic Vs. Brilliant Things Therapists Have Said To Them, And Their Stories

Attachment theory is one of the most credible areas in the field of psychotherapy. It is not, however, an excuse for a therapist to presume to be a substitute parental figure for a client. In this episode, Monika describes working with a therapist who talked about reparenting but undermined therapeutic progress with inconsistent boundaries and unethical behavior. Plus, Carrie takes a deep dive into the research on attachment between therapists and clients.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:07 Part One: 6:07 – 1:00:42 Part Two: 1:00:42 – 1:37:50   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Show Notes: Donate to The Mama Bear Effect How I Became Aware of My “Trauma Bond” With My Ex-Therapist Fifty psychological and psychiatric terms to avoid: a list of inaccurate, misleading, misused, ambiguous, and logically confused words and phrases The Implica

In this episode, our guest Maryellen shares her bad experience with a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) specialist. But was it bad therapy? Was it therapy at all? Dr. Ben Caldwell joins us to share his thoughts on loosely regulated mental health services, and we explore the unfortunately relevant ethics of having sessions with clients while visiting the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru and getting tattooed.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 5:39 Part One: 5:39 – 45:56 Part Two: 45:56 – 1:27:36 Part Three: 1:27:36 – 1:32:04   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Show Notes: Donate to Fluffy Butt Rescue Rehab Riviera: An investigation into the Southern California rehab industry SimplePractice Learning Ben Caldwell Labs

A small percentage of therapists do bad things – not tiny ruptures in the therapeutic alliance or scheduling errors, but truly exploitative practices. This is a story about the latter. Courtney describes her experience with a therapist who groomed her for inappropriate sexual contact, and we speak with Dr. Diane Gehart about the prevalence and tendencies of predatory therapists.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 4:50 Part One: 4:50 – 44:17 Part Two: 44:17 – 1:32:40 Part Three: 1:32:40 – 1:37:42   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling (Ben Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to CHIPS Playschemes When Therapy Goes Wrong: The Examination of an Unregulated Industry Diane Gehart Website Diane Gehart’s YouTube Channel The Sociopath Next Door 6 Stages of Gr

Marissa Esquibel, LMFT joins us to talk about codependency – the tendency to let another person’s behavior affect your own while obsessing over trying to control that person’s behavior. What happens when this dynamic shows up in the therapeutic relationship and gets reinforced by well-intentioned caretaking? How can offering a reduced fee undermine therapeutic progress?   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:31 Part One: 6:31 – 1:02:48 Part Two: 1:02:48 – 1:16:05   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling (Ben Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Southern Poverty Law Center Marissa Esquibel, LMFT: Website / Instagram The Codependummy Podcast: Website / Instagram / Twitter Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself

Kenneth R. Rosen is an author and journalist with firsthand experience in what is colloquially called the Troubled Teen Industry. This industry – a dubious version of wilderness therapy – often includes coercion, legal kidnapping, and manipulation. Kenneth joins us to talk about these harmful practices and his new book, Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 14:10 Part One: 14:10 – 1:06:05 Part Two: 1:06:05 – 1:14:31   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling (Ben Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to the Rory Peck Trust Kenneth R. Rosen’s Website Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs Psychological Science Accelerator The replication crisis devastated p

Having a severe and persistent mental illness is difficult – especially when the stigma of certain diagnoses negatively influences treatment. On today’s episode, Ann discusses her up and down experiences in the mental health system and her important perspectives on how therapists talk about their clients. Plus, we explore the landmark research on first impressions that explains how the therapeutic relationship is shaped within the first few seconds of treatment.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:10 Part One: 6:10 – 46:49 Part Two: 46:49 – 1:21:22   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling - (Ben Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Your Local Library People Are Sharing “Red Flags” For Bad Therapists And Everyone Should Take Notes Perceptions of the i

Building a good therapeutic alliance in couples therapy can be tricky with multiple people in the counseling room. This is especially challenging when the therapist is consistently late or not present at all. Today’s guest Maria shares her frustrating experience with an absentee therapist, and Dr. Bonnie Kennan joins us to talk about using feedback-informed treatment to provide very good couples therapy.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 11:53 Part One: 11:53 – 38:20 Part Two: 38:20 – 1:12:41 Part Three: 1:12:41 – 1:15:38   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling (Ben Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Camp Sunshine Embracing the Podcast Era: Trends, Opportunities, & Implications for Counselors Dr. Bonnie Kennan’s Website Deliberate Practice Inst

Rehab facilities can be life saving for many people. This is a different kind of story. Jen shares her experience of 2.5 years in inpatient and outpatient treatment centers trying to overcome unhelpful therapy and victim blaming before leaving against medical advice and reclaiming her life. Plus, Carrie and Ben take some time to discuss the philosophy of Very Bad Therapy and interviewing guests.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:05 Part One: 6:05 – 45:31 Part Two: 45:31 – 1:08:23   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling (Ben Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Feeding America and Surfrider Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their STEM professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagem

The more you learn about psychotherapy research, the less it all seems to make sense. Dr. Alex Williams and Dr. John Sakaluk are working to change that by researching the research itself. We discuss two of their latest papers on empirically supported treatments and potentially harmful therapies. Which modalities can we be confident about? Which psychological interventions appear to cause harm? What do we know about EMDR and exposure therapy?   VBT in Focus is a series of sporadic episodes in which Carrie and Ben have the privilege of chatting with their favorite thinkers in the field of psychotherapy. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 11:20 Part One: 11:20 – 1:58:23 Part Two: 1:58:20 – 2:00:02   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754

The cost of therapy, like most everything else, increases over time. This can lead to some difficult conversations about money and rate changes. How should therapists talk with their clients about fee increases? In today’s episode, Marwa shares her experience of very good therapy that ended very poorly when her therapist used Hunger Games logic to determine her new sliding scale availability.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 9:14 Part One: 9:14 – 43:35 Part Two: 43:35 – 1:21:34   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Khesed Wellness Therapy That Works LIVE - (Use code VERYBADTHERAPY for a $100 discount) How to Increase Rates for Clients in Private Practice (Poll

Conversations about sex – even in therapy – are often constrained by harmful cultural narratives. In today’s episode, Leah describes her experience of being shamed and blamed by her sex therapist, and Danielle Kramer provides an expert perspective on how therapists can prevent their sexual biases from negatively influencing clients. Plus, Carrie passionately revisits the topic of silence in therapy.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 18:28 Part One: 18:28 – 48:53 Part Two: 48:53 – 1:27:29 Part Three: 1:27:29 – 1:29:54   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to MAPS Danielle Kramer's Website and Instagram Modern Sex Therapy Institutes American Association of Sexuality

Silence in therapy can feel awkward, helpful, expansive, or even punitive. There is no consensus on its usefulness, but it can certainly contribute to very bad therapy. Ella joins us to share her experience of feeling punished by her therapists’ use of silence, and Dr. Gene Combs provides a narrative perspective on silence, sanctity, and power in the therapeutic relationship.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 7:46 Part One: 7:46 – 40:30 Part Two: 40:30 – 1:15:38 Part Three: 1:15:38 – 1:24:09   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to FareShare Evanston Family Therapy Center ShrinkRants Narrative Therapy: The Social Construction of Preferred Realities What is narrat

It’s not a secret that rapport contributes to outcomes in all types of healthcare. How, then, to make sense of our guest C’s story about a psychiatrist who ranted about Christmas, laughed at her suicide plan, and gave terrible marital advice? Dr. Patrick Wiita joins the show to talk about education, training, and ethics in the field of psychiatry and how to make the most out of every session with your patients.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:50 Part One: 6:50 – 31:16 Part Two: 31:16 – 1:15:36 Part Three: 1:15:36 – 1:19:54   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Estimated car cost as a predictor of driver yielding behaviors for pedes

In this week’s episode, Amy shares her childhood experience as a sexual abuse survivor being told by a therapist that her behavior was the problem and needed to be called out by her family. We also speak with Dr. Eli Karam about the importance of thinking systemically, the practice of family therapy, and how to help traumatized children feel supported instead of stigmatized as the identified patient (IP).   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:00 Part One: 6:00 – 31:03 Part Two: 31:03 – 1:11:04 Part Three: 1:11:04 – 1:15:07   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Brave Step Join the Very Bad Therapy Operation Santa Team Dr. Eli Karam's Website Northstar Learning Lab Multicultural

Dave Segal is a nature-based therapist and the executive director of Human-Nature Counselling in Victoria, British Columbia. He discusses his own experience of bad therapy, the importance of attunement and attachment, and how being with nature can bring about healing. Plus, Carrie and Ben give each other empirically supported Thanksgiving compliments.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 5:32 Part One: 5:32 – 55:19 Part Two: 55:19 – 1:03:28   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Human-Nature Counselling Human-Nature Counselling Society Workshops Why a Simple Act of Kindness is Not as Simple as it Seems: Understanding the Positive Impact of Our Compliments on Others Nature-Bas

Today’s guest Cherry shares her experience being prescribed benzodiazepines and God instead of receiving the emotional support she was seeking. We explore the impact of culture and stigma on mental health services, the heroism of clients, and what we can learn from the remarkable conclusions of antidepressant outcome studies.   Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community.   Introduction: 0:00 – 6:21 Part One: 6:21 – 33:01 Part Two: 33:01 – 1:10:42   Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story   Ben Fineman Counseling – Therapy for Young Professionals (Benjamin Michael Fineman - Registered Associate MFT #119754 - Supervised by Curt Widhalm, LMFT #47333)   Show Notes: Donate to Women for Women International The Heart & Soul of Change: Delivering What Works in Therapy Selective publication of antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy Listening to Prozac but hearing placebo: A met