Very Bad Therapy

Therapist defensiveness is a recurring theme in stories of bad therapy. In this week’s episode, Suzanne shares her experience with a therapist whose defensiveness was expressed in gratuitous displays of power and dismissive remarks. Plus, Dr. Nathan Castle rejoins the show to explore the topics of defensiveness, radical acceptance of clients, and the importance of transparency. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Nacoa Why do depressed people prefer sad music? Spotify - Deep Focus Playlist Dr. Nathan Castle's Website Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

This week’s story from Ashley has all the markings of bad family therapy. But did the interventions work? Ashley shares her experience as a teenager in crisis being threatened with inpatient care and alarms on her door, and Angela Caldwell makes us question everything we know about what constitutes good therapy. Is it OK to trick clients if it leads to successful outcomes? Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to The Opal Center Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

A satanic panic in the early 1980s culminated in the McMartin Preschool abuse trial, the then-longest and most expensive criminal trial in American history. The trial centered around 359 allegations of ritualistic satanic child abuse and concluded with zero convictions and a new understanding of the unreliability of recovered memories.  The satanic panic has subsided, but its indirect effects are still present today in how therapists work with childhood trauma. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Conviction of Things Not Seen: The Uniquely American Myth of Satanic Cults Michelle Remembers (Wikipedia) Proof Lacking for Ritual Abuse by Satanists The Dark Truth About the "Dark Tunnels of McMartin" Interviewer's Methods Seen as Key Issue in Preschool Case The Most Dangerous Idea in Mental Health Recovered Memories Interview with Dr. Loftus: Does Repressed Memory

This week’s story from Alison is a throwback to high school and all of Carrie and Ben’s greatest fears around teenage embarrassment. We discuss interventions that are better left unsaid (telling an underage client to share romantic feelings with her softball coach) and others that have questionable validity (House-Tree-Person and Rorschach tests). Plus, what does modern science have to say about Instagram Face? Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Note: This episode was recorded in early March. Show Notes: New study finds women wearing heavy makeup are viewed as having less human-like traits House-Tree-Person test The Problem With The Rorschach: It Doesn't Work Rorschach test (Wikipedia) Collaborative Therapy Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Scott Miller and Daryl Chow return to the podcast to discuss their new book, Better Results: Using Deliberate Practice to Improve Therapeutic Effectiveness.  Topics include the importance of targeting individual strengths and deficits in a system of learning, how to get out of the performance zone, the significance of a coach, and ideas for changing the ways in which psychotherapy is taught. 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. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Better Results: Using Deliberate Practice to Improve Therapeutic Effectiveness The Heart & Soul of Change: Delivering What Works in Therapy Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

What should therapists know about working with individuals with disabilities? In this week’s episode, Joy Wolf joins us to share her personal story about two therapists who responded to her disability in very different yet similarly problematic ways. We also discuss the impact of privilege, therapist uncertainty, and the limitations in how we are trained to work with clients with disabilities. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Shriners Hospitals Joy Wolf, LCSW | Psychology Today Frontiers of Psychotherapist Development Podcast Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

An urgent conversation about the role of therapists in doing the most public good during the coronavirus outbreak. Pat Wiita, MD and Farah Zerehi, MS explore the science, needed actions, and social justice implications of the pandemic, and Ben Caldwell, PsyD discusses what you need to know about shifting your practice to telehealth services. Please share this episode anywhere you feel it might make an impact. If you have expertise or information related to the pandemic that you feel is important to share with the psychotherapy community, email us at vbtpodcast@gmail.com. Note: A previous version of this episode contained information about Zoom being HIPAA compliant. This is only true for the Zoom for Healthcare option ($200/month), not the free and low-tier paid options.

This week’s captivating story from Paloma brings together themes of postpartum depression and therapist specialization. Paloma offers insight into the harmful impact of societal narratives about motherhood and Curt Widhalm rejoins the podcast to explain what specialization actually means – and when it’s just a marketing tool with dangerous consequences. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Project NATEEN Dog ownership might reduce loneliness Are You Sure You are a Specialist? Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Philip Zimbardo rode the impact of the Stanford Prison Experiment to international renown. Perhaps he forgot to mention that his famous research was more performance art than psychological experiment. In our eighth of twelve history episodes, we look at the common narratives and impact of the SPE, and then consider recently uncovered evidence to the contrary. Plus, Carrie makes sense of Zimbardo’s 7,000 word response to the new criticisms. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment The Lifespan of a Lie Will the Stanford Prison Experiment Ever Die? Rationally Speaking: RS 241 - Thibault Le Texier on "Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment" The Stanford Prison Experiment was massively influential. We just learned it was a fraud. Beware the Epiphany-Industrial Complex Philip Zimbardo's Response to Recent Criticisms of the Stan

This week’s story from Farah touches on many common themes of bad therapy: disempowerment, unsolicited advice, misrepresenting qualifications, and more. We explore how early-career therapists can be transparent about their lack of experience while still creating client buy-in, what research suggests about giving advice to clients, and the importance of feedback. Plus, Carrie reflects on the gender power dynamic on this podcast and between male therapists and female or non-binary clients. Stay tuned afterward for a teaser of the most recent VBT Patreon episode! Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Angel City Pit Bulls Do psychotherapists improve with time and experience? A longitudinal analysis of outcomes in a clinical setting. Advice Giving in Psychotherapy Solicited and Unsolicited Therapist Advice in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Is it Advised Where

Today’s guest Danny shares his outrageous experience of being told to urinate in a cup so his therapist could test if he was really gay. And that’s just the beginning of the story. We also speak with Dr. Joe Kort to explore best practices for working with the LGBTQ+ community, the need for humility and curiosity in a time of rapidly changing relationships to identity, and the diagnoses that stigmatize and marginalize members of this population. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Teen Line Exploratory study on the role of emotion regulation in perceived valence, humour, and beneficial use of depressive internet memes in depression Conversion therapy (Wikipedia) Award-Winning Social Worker Caitlin Ryan Discusses Her Groundbreaking Research On Family Acceptance of LGBTQ Children Modern Sex Therapy Institutes LGBTQ Clients in Therapy: Clinical Issues and

Today’s guest Kat shares her experience with a therapist who was unnecessarily cruel in her approach to treatment. In trying to make sense of this behavior, Carrie and Ben consider the research on how and when therapeutic relationships get fractured as a result of divergent interpretations of the same significant events in therapy. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Save the Children Book Review: All Therapy Books Significant events in psychotherapy: An update of research findings The first sessions of psychotherapy: a qualitative meta-analysis of alliance formation processes Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

In 1964, Dr. Everett Shostrom had a brilliant idea: record short videos of the same person receiving therapy from three top psychologists. These videos are colloquially referred to as the Gloria tapes, and the story behind the therapy is astounding. Coercion, human ashtrays, lawsuits, Fritz Perls being a massive jerk, and more! This is episode seven in our monthly look at bad therapy through the decades. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: The March of Time (Wikipedia) Stuff You Should Know: How Conversion Therapy Doesn't Work Three approaches to psychotherapy. All three sessions (1965) The Gloria Films: Candid answers to questions therapists ask most Who was Gloria? Decoding Gloria: an application of Langs' Communicative Approach (Part 1) Living with the Gloria Films: A daughter's memory The Patient Gloria review: Revisiting therapy as an exorcising scream

In the UK, anyone with $16 can become a certified psychotherapist and begin seeing clients immediately. If this sounds surprising, imagine how clients feel when they have a bad experience and realize their therapist is not governed by any regulatory body. BBC presenter Jordan Dunbar joins us to share his own stories of bad therapy and his surprising findings from investigating the lack of regulation around UK mental health services. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Northern Ireland Hospice The Next Episode: Anyone Can Call Themselves A Therapist File on 4: The therapy business Psychotherapy Expertise Should Mean Superior Outcomes and Demonstrable Improvement Over Time Mind: for better mental health Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

In America, psychotherapist licensure requirements vary – often absurdly – from state to state. What does not vary is the need for periodic license renewal, an otherwise mundane fact that holds foreboding significance in our guest Dee’s story. Join us for a surprisingly interesting exploration of licensure requirements and the consequences of practicing without authorization. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to a LGBTQ+ Charity Three Decades Later: The Life Experiences and Mid-Life Functioning of 1980s Heavy Metal Groupies, Musicians, and Fans Survey Says Metalheads Least Likely to Have a Side Piece Licensure Requirements for Professional Counselors - 2010 Summary of License Requirements Understanding how counselors are regulated Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

The exploitation of uneven power and emotional vulnerability is, of course, not limited to the field of psychotherapy. Today’s guest Megan shares her experience of very bad pastoral counseling, and we speak with the Reverend Meredith Harber to explore the nuances of Megan’s story and what proper pastoral care looks like with a contemporary understanding of power dynamics, boundaries, and gender norms. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to Solid Ground Better Results: Using Deliberate Practice to Improve Therapeutic Effectiveness Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

The first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I) was published with the intention of creating standardized language for mental abnormalities. It was also basically a war department bulletin. The controversial compendium is responsible for many important contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy, but it also legitimized new forms of oppression and stigmatization in the name of normalizing judgments. This is part six of twelve monthly episodes revisiting bad therapy through the decades. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: Mental Disorders (DSM-I) A brief historicity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Issues and implications for the future of psychiatric canon and practice Sexual Sunday School: The DSM and the Gatekeeping of Morality Very Bad Therapy: Website / Fac

Today’s story from T is a cautionary tale about a therapist causing harm by blurring boundaries around texting, personal space, and self-disclosure. Carrie and Ben attempt to hold space for T’s experience while seeking a middle ground in their differing perspectives about her therapist’s behavior. One thing is certain: if a therapist has a sexual dream about a client, the therapeutic relationship is not the place for processing. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. In today's episode, the absence of bad therapy is indeed evidence of bad therapy as our guest Eric joins us to discuss the impact of showing up for multiple sessions only to discover that the therapist is nowhere to be found. Plus, we talk about therapists going to prison, cars exploding, and Ben unveils the six-word joke that will single-handedly change the future of psychotherapy. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Show Notes: Donate to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Humor Associated With Positive Outcomes in Individual Psychotherapy Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Jon Hook, PhD student at Western Michigan University, is contributing to research on how the coding of session transcripts to determine therapist attachment styles can be used to facilitate better client outcomes. He joins us to discuss the significance of therapist attachment and shares his story as a client of two therapeutic alliances that were anything but securely attached. Show Notes: Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Donate to Sojourner Truth House Therapist Attachment-Related Behaviors and Their Effects on Psychotherapy Process and Outcome ResearchGate: Alessandro Talia / Eric Sauer / Jon Hook Division 29: Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy Jon Hook on Twitter Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story