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 The...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 7 min
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 episode...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 30 min
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 . Intr...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 25 min
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, chec...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 33 min
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...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 38 min
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, chec...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 32 min
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 Ther...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 38 min
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 Patre...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 16 min
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 ...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 15 min
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 suppo...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 21 min
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, c...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 16 min
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 ...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 8 min
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...
Feb 15, 2021•2 hr
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...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 22 min
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 ...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 30 min
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...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 24 min
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 epis...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 20 min
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, ...
Dec 07, 2020•1 hr 15 min
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 . Intr...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 3 min
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...
Nov 09, 2020•1 hr 11 min
Dr. Christine King experienced three concussions when she was a child. The symptoms of her brain injury were misunderstood and later assumed to be the result of childhood sexual abuse, sending Christine on a pathologized path that took decades for her to undo. We hear her story and also speak with Dr. Ben Caldwell about how therapists can attune to client symptoms, make good referrals, and avoid misdiagnoses when they lack relevant knowledge beyond their scope of practice. Thank you for listenin...
Oct 26, 2020•1 hr 27 min
Dr. Don Meichenbaum is credited with helping to develop cognitive behavioral therapy in the 1960s and 1970s. He has been named one of the ten most influential psychotherapists of the 20th century. He also believes that the field of psychotherapy is full of bullshit and hype. Dr. Meichenbaum joins us to talk about delivering what actually works in therapy, how to spot hype, and challenging the status quo. VBT in focus is a series of sporadic episodes in which Carrie and Ben have the privilege of ...
Oct 12, 2020•1 hr 9 min
In today’s episode, Jonathan shares his story as a teenager working with a gender therapist who dismissed his preferences for treatment in favor of uncovering his “reasons” for being trans. We also speak with Beck Gee-Cohen about best practices in working with trans kids and how many modalities of psychotherapy exclude trans narratives. 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 ...
Sep 28, 2020•1 hr 24 min
Henk Spierings has had a wide range of experiences in therapy – most of them unhelpful, if not outright harmful. He joins us to discuss his new book, Becoming Compliant, and share the lessons he’s learned from decades of bad therapy. Plus, Ben and Carrie get on their soapbox to explain why it’s necessary to talk with clients about how therapy works and the risks of treatment failure. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 16 min
What’s the difference between very bad therapy and very unethical therapy? Today’s guest Lisa shares her experience with a logotherapist that was many things – insulting, disturbing, oddly prophetic – but did any of it constitute an ethical violation? Dr. Christopher Taylor joins us to answer these questions and more about the surprisingly interesting world of ethics in psychotherapy. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Ba...
Aug 31, 2020•1 hr 24 min
Kenneth E. Hartman is a prison reform activist who served 38 years in the California prison system. He discusses his advocacy work, what mental health care looks like in prison, and his personal experiences of therapy – both good and bad. He also shares his thoughts on how therapists can play a role in the necessary social change at the heart of effective prison reform. Plus, Carrie discusses if it is ever justified to warn clients about using insurance. Thank you for listening. To support the s...
Aug 17, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Rachel Bennett shares her experience navigating the historically misguided gatekeeping requirements for gender reassignment surgery. She discusses how therapists can better advocate for trans-affirmative care, and we speak with Dr. David Nylund to explore a paradigm that challenges the oppressive notion that transitioning is a psychiatric issue. Plus, how can feedback-informed treatment be used as a tool of social justice? Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regula...
Aug 03, 2020•1 hr 41 min
An interview with Chrissy Gillmore about the primacy of client strengths, resilience, and culture in healing trauma, and how a pathology-focused approach can result in bad therapy. Plus, Carrie and Ben explore the controversy behind the APA Clinical Practice Guidelines for PTSD and discuss whether being trauma-informed is an ethical requirement, clever marketing, or both. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Pat...
Jul 20, 2020•1 hr 25 min
Very Bad Therapy is switching to biweekly episodes, but we’re not quite ready to miss a week of podcasting yet. We discuss the new format, check in on our quarantine adventures, talk about some episodes in the queue, and Carrie gushes about the upcoming Therapy Reimagined conference. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Very Bad Therapy Patreon community ....
Jul 13, 2020•12 min
There is an ongoing replication crisis in science; many of the studies that frame our scientific knowledge, especially in psychology, likely have incorrect conclusions. This has huge ramifications for clinical psychology. How can clinicians be effective if the research that supports accepted practices is largely a mirage? Join us as we explore the false positives of psychotherapy and gaze into the existential void. Thank you for listening. To support the show and receive access to regular bonus ...
Jul 06, 2020•54 min
