Very Bad Therapy

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All therapy books have an oddly similar message: *This* form of therapy is the one that truly matters, and *this* science/philosophy/whatever is the key to understanding how human psychology actually works. These narratives can't all be true, so are they all simply bullshit instead? We read through Scott Alexander's legendary blog post, Book Review: All Therapy Books, and discuss whether therapy gurus really believe the answers they are selling. 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 – 10:36 Part One: 10:36 – 1:29:35 Part Two: 1:29:35 – 1:31:55 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: 'The Body Keeps the Score' offers uncertain science in the name of self-help. It's not alone. Book Review: All Therapy Books Astral Codex Ten Slate Star Codex An Investigation of Self-Assessment Bias in Mental Health Providers

Social proof has become a crucial element of consumer decision making in the Internet era. So why don't the vast majority of therapists ask their clients to give testimonials or leave reviews? We ponder the frustrating tension between psychotherapy ethics codes and literature on marketing in the 21st century, and we do our best to advise therapists about what to do in response to a bad online review. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Sentio Counseling Center – high-quality, low-fee online therapy in California with immediate availability for new clients. Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Work and Identity in an Era of Precarious Employment: How Workers Respond to "Personal Branding" Discourse To Solicit or Not to Solicit? Key Issues to Consider Before Soliciting Testimonials and Reviews from Patients How Did It Go? A Comparison of Experience and Outcome-Focused Online Reviews on Treatment Expectations Change My Mind: The Impact of Online Client Ratings and Reviews on Perceptions of Therapists Yelped: Psychotherapy in the time of online consumer reviews. Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing, and Integrating Online Marketing The Truth About Using Testimonials to Market Your Practice Scope and Ethics of Psychologists' Use of Client Testimonials on Professional Websites Navigating the ethics of soliciting reviews for mental health professionals Responding to a Yelp review can cost you Psychotherapists in danger: The ethics of responding to client threats, stalking, and harassment. New Orleans psychologist sues over negative Angie's List comments

Trauma-informed therapy is…what, exactly? And is trauma actually stored in the body, or is that just a clever narrative that a few enterprising gurus have used to sell books and trainings? We dig deep into the research on trauma to answer these questions and more, and Carrie introduces her breakthrough trauma-focused treatment: dog therapy. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Sentio Counseling Center – high-quality, low-fee online therapy in California with immediate availability for new clients. Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services: Appendix C – Historical Account of Trauma Treating PTSD: A Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions Key Ingredients for Successful Trauma-Informed Care Implementation What Is Trauma-Informed Therapy? Is Your Therapist 'Trauma-Informed'? (And Why It Matters) Envisioning a trauma-informed service system: A vital paradigm shift Trauma-Informed Care (Encyclopedia of Social Work) Why Trauma-Informed Care Matters Trauma- and violence-informed care (Wikipedia) Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services: Chapter 1 – Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective The relative efficacy of bona fide psychotherapies for treating post-traumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis of direct comparisons APA Clinical Practice Guidelines for Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults APA Clinical Practice Guidelines PTSD Treatment Recommendations Clinical Practice Guidelines: Beneficial Development or Bad Therapy? Relationships and Responsiveness in the Psychological Treatment of Trauma: The Tragedy of the APA Clinical Practice Guideline Our Primitive Response to Stress Debunking Myths About Trauma and Memory The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma Belief in Unconscious Repressed Memory Persists Exploring the Controversy of Polyvagal Theory The Brilliant Marketing of Bessel van der Kolk and Stephen Porges and His Polyvagal Theory Polyvagal Theory – Useful Narrative but Still Just a Theory The Problem with The Polyvagal Theory Domestication of the dog (Wikipedia) Dogs as Pets: How Dogs May Have Helped Homo Sapiens Triumph Over Neanderthals What Happened to Mirror Neurons? What is Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)?

No, EMDR is not a cultish pyramid scheme. With that out of the way, why is EMDR training so expensive when its theoretical foundations are supported by dubious (at best) research? In this clickbaity-titled episode, Angela Nauss, EMDRIA-certified LMFT, joins us to describe the experience of paying thousands of dollars to "watch the dumpster fire from inside the dumpster." Please direct all angry emails to vbtpodcast@gmail.com. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Sentio Counseling Center – high-quality, low-fee online therapy in California with immediate availability for new clients. Introduction: 0:00 – 9:40 Part One: 9:40 – 1:12:13 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Angela Nauss' Website A Review of EMDR Literature: A Clinician's Skepticism Spreadsheet of EMDR Training Costs

What makes for effective group therapy? Cohesion, expectation setting, and as today's guest Thomas can attest to, not having the therapist give the middle finger to a group member. We try to make sense of Thomas' experience by looking into research on group therapy, and we also try to make sense of our own experience of failing to find a single group therapy expert. 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 – 9:57 Part One: 9:57 – 46:11 Part Two: 46:11 – 1:18:17 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Donate to Heifer International I Misplaced My Phone For Forty-Five Minutes, And Now I'm A Mindfulness Expert Personalizing Psychotherapy: Assessing and Accommodating Patient Preferences Patient perspectives on working with preferences in psychotherapy: A consensual qualitative research study Group therapy is as effective as individual therapy, and more efficient. Here's how to do it successfully Recent Developments in Group Psychotherapy Research

What's so important about a diagnosis? For neurodivergent clients, it can mean affirmation, community support, and access to much-needed services…if the diagnosis is correct. In today's episode, we talk to Harley about her challenges in seeking diagnoses of autism and ADHD, and Halina Brooke rejoins us to discuss some of the best practices (and controversies) in supporting autistic 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 – 8:24 Part One: 8:24 – 49:54 Part Two: 49:54 – 1:27:20 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Donate to Earthjustice Halina Brooke's Website Neurodiversity Affirming Practice Workshop neurodiversecounseling.com sensibletherapypractices.com counselingcompact.org

"No bad parts" is a common mantra in therapy – the various parts of ourselves are always working to serve some beneficial purpose. But what happens when a therapist communicates to a client that significant parts of who they are aren't welcome in the therapy room? Today's guest Adam describes having to compartmentalize aspects of his identity with his therapist, and Dr. Sheila Addison joins us to discuss how to provide affirming services to all parts of a client. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Mental Health Match. Introduction: 0:00 – 4:53 Part One: 4:53 – 41:18 Part Two: 41:18 – 1:23:05 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Donate to Trans Lifeline Dr. Sheila Addison: Website / Twitter

Is good therapy as simple as whatever activity makes a client feel better? What if that activity is a singular focus on sports betting strategy? In today's episode, we talk with Christine to learn from her experience of "gambling therapy" and answer the question of whether or not it's a good thing to be friends with your therapist (spoiler: no, no it is not). Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Mental Health Match. Introduction: 0:00 – 5:39 Part One: 5:39 – 46:05 Part Two: 46:05 – 1:23:37 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Gamblers Anonymous Buzzfeed: Share Your Therapy Icks, Including The Worst Thing A Therapist Has Ever Said To You Apply to Train at Sentio Counseling Center! 6 Stages of Grooming Adults and Teens: Spotting the Red Flags

You've already heard that the therapeutic alliance is important to client outcomes, but does anyone actually know why? We dig into the research to figure out if ruptures can be a good thing (yes!), what clients and therapists should know about the therapeutic alliance, and why this topic has been fervently researched over the last half-century. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Mental Health Match. Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Taylor Tomlinson: Look At You The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Therapeutic alliance (Wikipedia) Studying psychotherapy using the one-with-many design: The therapeutic alliance as an exemplar. What is the Therapeutic Alliance and Why is it Important? The Alliance in Adult Psychotherapy: A Meta-Analytic Synthesis Current concepts of transference. Therapeutic Alliance and Outcome of Psychotherapy: Historical Excursus, Measurements, and Prospects for Research Therapeutic alliance rupture as therapy event for empirical investigation The development and decay of the working alliance during time-limited counseling. Patterns of working alliance development: A typology of client's working alliance ratings. Clients' and Therapists' Views of the Therapeutic Alliance: Similarities, Differences and Relationship to Therapy Outcome The Therapeutic Alliance: The Fundamental Element of Psychotherapy Therapeutic Alliance Ruptures Alliance rupture repair: A meta-analysis.

It seems odd that most therapists – us included – aren't 100% certain about what constitutes an intervention. Are interventions scripted in-session activities? What about the theoretical orientations themselves? There isn't one single answer, but interventions aren't that difficult to understand if you zoom out far enough…and get a little bit of help from ChatGPT. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Sentio Counseling Center – high-quality, low-fee online therapy in California with immediate availability for new couples and individual clients. Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: ChatGPT Effective Psychotherapists: Clinical Skills That Improve Client Outcomes Types of interventions (NIH) Types of Interventions in Counseling The Complete Set of Client Handouts and Worksheets from ACT books Essential Techniques for the Beginning Psychodynamic Psychotherapist Commonly-Used Intervention Words for Mental Health Progress Notes Therapy Interventions Cheat Sheet What is the Change Triangle? Affect Phobia Therapy

There are over 600 types of psychotherapy. What are they, where did they come from, and what makes them important? We dive deep (too deep, probably) into a $900 textbook in an attempt to make sense of the spectacularly confusing topic of theoretical orientations. This is an integrative episode – we integrate a lot of information with even more information. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by Sentio Counseling Center – high-quality, low-fee online therapy in California with immediate availability for new clients. Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology Bruce Wampold on What Actually Makes Us Good Therapists The evidence for evidence-based therapy is not as clear as we thought Evaluating the Evidential Value of Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments (ESTs): A Meta-Scientific Review Obtaining Consensus in Psychotherapy: What Holds Us Back? Becoming an Effective Psychotherapist: Adopting a Theory of Psychotherapy That's Right for You and Your Client Types of Therapy

It's not unusual for clients to develop feelings for their therapist. It's also not unusual for therapists to develop feelings for their clients. So why is it such a bad idea for a therapist to share (or act) on those feelings? Today's guest Kate shares a story that illustrates exactly why, and Dr. Ben Caldwell rejoins us to talk about what should happen when clients and therapists develop feelings for one another. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community. Today's episode is sponsored by The Organized Therapist – Social Media for Therapists and Sentio Counseling Center – high-quality, low-fee online therapy in California with immediate availability for new clients. Introduction: 0:00 – 8:40 Part One: 8:40 – 44:35 Part Two: 44:35 – 1:30:32 Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Bookshelf / Tell Us Your Story Show Notes: Donate to NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness Ben Caldwell on Authory The Patient on Hulu Mentour Pilot (YouTube) Does sorry work? The impact of apology laws on medical malpractice "Sorry" Is Never Enough: How State Apology Laws Fail to Reduce Medical Malpractice Liability Risk