Very Bad Therapy

Do client fees impact therapy outcomes? How should therapists talk with their clients about money? Should mental health care be a basic human right? We have lots of questions and few answers as today’s guest Arianne joins us to share her story of money tension in therapy. Plus, Carrie and Ben read listener mail, gripe about therapist Facebook groups, and debate the ethics of prioritizing income maximization over all else as a mental health professional. VBT Copenhagen meetup: Ruby, tirsdag 17. december kl. 16:30 Show Notes: Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Donate to Karsh Center The Money Taboo: Its Effects in Everyday Life and in the Practice of Psychotherapy Treatment Effectiveness and Its Correlates in a Marriage and Family Therapy Training Clinic Does paying a fee for psychotherapy alter the effectiveness of treatment? Quid pro quo: fee for services delivered in a psychology training clinic Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

In the 1940s, a new ad campaign appeared on the silver screen to promote psychotherapy. Yes, the extant videos are as spectacular as you imagine. In this month's journey through the decades, Carrie and Ben break down archival footage to laugh, marvel, and look curiously at how the American public was sold on psychoanalysis. Now tell me about your mother. Show Notes: Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Popular Depiction of Psychoanalysis in Late 1940s Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Dr. Chris Hoff hosts The Radical Therapist podcast and YouTube channel. He joins us to discuss postmodern assumptions in therapy, how a strict focus on social justice can lead to familiar diagnostic pitfalls, and the importance of maintaining curiosity to combat confirmation bias. Plus, we explore the benefits of creating a culture where failure is valued and Chris shares his advice for early-career clinicians. 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. Show Notes: Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon The Radical Therapist podcast and YouTube channel Why Has Critique Run Out of Steam? An Attempt at a "Compositionist Manifesto" Cheerleading in Therapy? What Can't Be Fixed (The Moth) 4 Ways of Knowing in Counseling & Therapy Transformation Now!: Toward a Post-Oppositional Politics of Change The Queer Art of Failure Conflict Is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Commun

A small percentage of clients experience negative effects from therapy. Why is it so difficult for therapists to identify this phenomenon when reflecting on past or present work? Norwegian psychologist and author Jørgen A. Flor joins us to explore the myth of side-effect free therapy and discuss a moving story from today's guest Jamie about unambiguously harmful treatment. Show Notes: Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Donate to NARAL Skadelige samtaler - myten om bivirkningsfri terapi Jørgen A. Flor's Website Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

"If you say yes to this, we'll have to end our therapeutic relationship." The context of this quote is explained in this week's episode about therapist self-disclosure, dual relationships, and a much-deserved misconduct report. Seriously y'all, be aware of how your social and political identities have the potential to impact clients and don't burst through boundaries like the Kool-Aid Man. Even Woebot gets sad when therapists act on self-interest. Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Show Notes: Donate to Mental Health America Woebot Therapy robots are already here The Truth About The Codes Of Ethics: Dispelling the Rumors that Dual Relationships are Unethical Opening Up: Therapist Self-Disclosure in Theory, Research, and Practice The role of therapist self-disclosure in psychotherapy: A qualitative review Self-Disclosure Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

In the 1930s, a handful of aspiring medical luminaries imagined that mental illness could be fixed by cutting into the brain. In this month's history exploration, Carrie and Ben seek to understand why this seemed like a good idea at the time and what led to the procedure being banned a few decades later. When the awarding of a Nobel Prize is subsequently considered "an astounding error of judgment," bad things probably happened. Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Show Notes: Violence, mental illness, and the brain - A brief history of psychosurgery: Part 1 - From trephination to lobotomy Frontal leukotomy and related psychosurgical procedures in the era before antipsychotics (1935-1954): A historical overview. The Extraction of the Stone of Madness Open Dialogue: A New Approach to Mental Healthcare A Systematic Review of the Soteria Paradigm for the Treatment of People Diagnosed With Schizophrenia NPR: My Lobotomy (Podcast) Lobotomy (Wikipedia) Trepanning (Wikipedia) Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

Adventure therapy: nature, healing, strength, and camaraderie. And sometimes emotional abuse, strip searches, forced compliance, and more. What is happening in this niche of psychotherapy where our guest Will's story is simultaneously shocking to us and not at all surprising to those within the field? Join us and our expert guest Will Dobud on a truly compelling trek through the wilderness of adventure therapy. Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Show Notes: Donate to Friends of the Rainforest Based on a True Story (Podcast) International Adventure Therapy International Adventure Therapy Group (Facebook) Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group (TAPG) (Facebook) Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

On today's episode, our guest Ashley recalls her experience as a graduate psychology student looking for therapy in part to process feelings of disappointment with her education. We take this opportunity to get intimate with the research on graduate psychology programs and confront the elephant in the room: these programs don't seem to work. If you have ever doubted the usefulness of your graduate education, this episode is for you. Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Show Notes: Donate to Global Empowerment Mission How Cognitive Biases Impact Therapist Development: The Importance of Self-Awareness in Graduate Psychology Education (Ben's Thesis) Specific vs Nonspecific Factors in Psychotherapy: A Controlled Study of Outcome Outcome and Process Differences Between Professional and Nonprofessional Therapists in Time-Limited Group Psychotherapy Does Psychotherapy Supervision Contribute to Patient Outcomes? Considering Thirty Years of Research Perceived Impact on Client Outcomes: The Perspectives of Practicin

Professionalism in psychotherapy is often hard to define, but it probably doesn't include being twenty minutes late to a client's first session and sharing unwanted Bible passages. Katie Vernoy joins us in advance of the Therapy Reimagined Conference to share her knowledge and make sense of all the confusing therapist behavior we hear in today's interview with Ofra. Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Show Notes: Donate to the ACLU Katie Vernoy's Website Therapy Reimagined Conference 2019 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Dr. Ben "Manfred" Caldwell joins us in make-believe 1920s Berlin to discuss Max Eitingon and the surprising origins of psychotherapy supervision. We also explore examples of bad supervision, why contemporary supervision appears to have no impact on client outcomes, and what supervisors and supervisees can actually do to make our field better. This is episode three of twelve in our monthly series exploring very bad therapy through the decades. Support Very Bad Therapy on Patreon Show Notes: Does Psychotherapy Supervision Contribute to Patient Outcomes? Considering Thirty Years of Research The Ingredients of Supervisor Failure The Beginnings of Psychoanalytic Supervision: The Crucial Role of Max Eitingon When bad supervision is good Deliberate Practice for Psychotherapists Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Your therapist is having a bad day. Will this impact the quality of counseling? If you ask the therapist, probably not. But what does the research suggest about clients' perceptions of therapists who are riding the struggle bus? Today's guest Allison describes her increasingly bizarre experience with a clinician who wasn't quite able to bring her 'A' game to the counseling room. Do you have a story of very bad therapy? Send us a message to share it on the show! Show Notes: Donate to International Rescue Committee Blog post: 4 Lessons from 20 Weeks of Very Bad Therapy The Contribution of the Quality of Therapists' Personal Lives to the Development of the Working Alliance Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

Tricare is government managed health insurance given to United States military personnel and their dependents. It is also very confusing to understand, even for many of the providers themselves. As we learn from our guest Anna, this can lead to a frustrating search for helpful counseling. To make sense of the mystifying details of Anna's story - as well as all the acronyms - Julie Payne joins us to discuss everything you ever wanted to know about military mental health care. Show Notes: Donate to Wounded Warrior Project What does losing your keys have in common with the treatment of trauma? Adoption by VA Residential Programs of Two Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for PTSD: Effect on Patient Outcomes Julie Payne's Website / Peninsula Family Therapy for Children & Adults Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

What is at the root of very bad therapy? The common feeling that something is lacking in the education, training, development, and services provided by psychotherapists is backed by a wealth of research supporting the notion that a paradigm shift is sorely needed. Dr. Scott Miller is leading this movement with his work in the areas of routine outcome monitoring and deliberate practice. 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. Show Notes: Dr. Scott Miller's Website International Center for Clinical Excellence Scott Miller, PhD - The Evolution of Psychotherapy: An Oxymoron (2013) The Heart & Soul of Change: Delivering What Works in Therapy Beyond Measures and Monitoring: Realizing the Potential of Feedback-Informed Treatment Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

What constitutes bad termination? In the words of Justice Potter Stewart, "I shall not today attempt to further define [it]... But I know it when I see it." In today's episode, R shares their story of termination that we can clearly know to be bad. But is it unethical? Ben and Carrie search for answers and discuss a pantheoretical framework for good termination. Thank you for listening. All reviews, ratings, Facebook likes, and feedback to soothe Ben's anxiety are greatly appreciated. Show Notes: Donate to Project Reunify Codes of Ethics on Termination in Psychotherapy and Counseling Comparing therapist and client perspectives on reasons for psychotherapy termination Do all therapists do that when saying goodbye? A study of commonalities in termination behaviors The Termination Checklist (International Center for Clinical Excellence) Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

Lewis Terman was one of the most influential innovators in educational psychology and IQ testing. He also believed that segregating and sterilizing "feebleminded" individuals - as determined by a biased paradigm of general intelligence - was the necessary path toward a better society. This is the second installment in our monthly series on very bad therapy through the decades. Show Notes: The Uses of Intelligence Tests (Terman, 1916) The Vexing Legacy of Lewis Terman The Kallikak Family (Wikipedia) Reconstruction: America After the Civil War (PBS) Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

Young children need play - not interrogation - to help them learn and form relationships. Today's guest PJ recalls his experience as an eight-year-old with a therapist who chose not to use play therapy in favor of a more investigative approach. Next, child therapy expert Megan Costello discusses the nuance of play therapy and what went wrong in PJ's story. And for some reason, we introduce our new sure-to-fail concept: The Richard Spencer Matrix for Therapists. Show Notes: Donate to Kidspace Children's Museum Megan Costello's Website Therapy Reimagined Conference 2019 Free Licenses for the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS), Child ORS, and Young Child ORS Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

In 2019, there somehow exists at least one psychotherapist who feels that it is helpful to tell a female client that her entire gender is biologically predisposed to prefer domestic life to a professional career. We cringe-laugh our way through an engaging interview with Aviva before diving into the research on societal biases, gender norms, and gender matching in the therapeutic relationship. Climate change is real. Show Notes: Donate to March of Dimes and/or RAICES Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps Race Bias, Social Class Bias, and Gender Bias in Clinical Judgment Physicians' attitudes toward preventative therapy for coronary artery disease: Is there a gender bias? Therapists' Approaches to the Normative Challenges of Dual-Earner Couples Does Client-Therapist Gender Matching Influence Therapy Course or Outcome in Psychotherapy? Effect of Patient-Therapist Gender Match on Psychotherapy Retention Among United States Veterans with Postttraumatic Stress Disorder Very Bad Therapy: Website / Fac

Imagine a spectrum of unethical therapist conduct. Far, far toward the most extreme end, just before sexual coercion, are activities like grooming behavior and inappropriate physical touch. Our guest Jessica shares her dread-inducing story of working with a therapist who abused his power in ways that mental health professionals should only experience when reading ethics textbooks. Show Notes: Donate to Renewed APA Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct AAMFT Code of Ethics Recognizing and Managing Erotic and Eroticized Transferences Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

Adolescent girls should be sent to the country to prepare for housewifery and motherhood. So writes G. Stanley Hall, first president of the American Psychological Association, in 1904. This is the first in a series of monthly episodes exploring very bad therapy in the decades preceding the stories of today. Floating uteruses not included. Show Notes: Chapter XVII: Adolescent Girls and Their Education (Hall, 1904) Wherein Should the Education of a Woman Differ from That of a Man (Gordon, 1905) G. Stanley Hall (Wikipedia) Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook

Gathering client information: good. Transcribing client responses into a computer while facing a wall: not good. It is estimated that 34% of clients don’t return after their first session, a strong indication that the traditional intake model is in need of repair. Dr. Daryl Chow joins us to discuss our guest Bryan’s bad intake experience, the importance of focusing intakes on giving rather than taking, and we explore how psychotherapists can achieve better outcomes over the long-term future. Show Notes: Is Dropout After a First Psychotherapy Visit Always a Bad Outcome? The First Kiss: Undoing the Intake Model and Igniting First Sessions in Psychotherapy Beyond Measures and Monitoring: Realizing the Potential of Feedback-Informed Treatment Daryl's Website Daryl's Blog: Frontiers of Psychotherapist Development Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook