Bad Therapist
At a moment when therapy speak has made it into the mainstream and trauma is a national preoccupation, it’s high time to examine the shadow side of mental health. Bad Therapist Podcast takes an amused, informed look at the bad actors mucking around in the world of psychology. Cads, opportunists, and charlatans have been a part of this field since the beginning; some of them have even made lasting contributions to the field. Co-hosted by psychotherapist Ash Compton and journalist Rachel Monroe, both big fans of therapy and big critics of those who abuse its insights, Bad Therapist delves into two centuries of sketchy behavior, spanning everything from questionable nineteenth-century hypnotists to the TikTok-famous therapy hustlers.
Episodes
Part Two of Two on Hysteria. Ash and Rachel seek knowns and unknowns about the contested origins of Hysteria finding its way into the emergent psychological annals. Golden Siggie takes the lead. Find metaphors doing *the m...
Part One of Two on Hysteria. Ash and Rachel dig into the tangled history of this complex and ever-evolving diagnosis, starting with its medical origins. From ancient theories to outdated treatments, we’re pulling from the antiquated archives to unpack the evolution of this so-called malady. Stay tuned for Part Two next week—Freud on Hysteria!
SOURCES:
- Gilman, Sander L., Helen King, Roy P...
This week, in honor of St. Valentine’s Day, Bad Therapist makes a special guest appearance on a favorite podcast, You’re Wrong About, to get to the bottom of Emotional Labor— a sociological and labor-related construct that has snuck its way into impersonal realms and colloquialisms. And in doing so, we solve the entire country’s relationship problems— you’re welcome.
Hosted by Sarah Marshall. Produced by Carolyn Kendrick
RESOURC...
Rachel and Ash discuss an idea that’s all the rage among coaches and influencer types in Austin and elsewhere: polarity. Spoiler alert: it’s essentially a New Age-y version of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, and its inventor has some of the worst ideas we’ve ever heard about how to respond to an angry woman (….tickle her????).
Sources:
- The Madelyn Moon Show - https://www.youtube.com/
channel/ UCU8GwCzSV...
Ash and Rachel tackle two bad therapists (or one bad therapist and one flawed-but-relatable ex-therapist) who worked with the rich and famous: Eugene Landy, the man who trapped and swindled Brian Wilson, and Phil Towle, Metallica’s “performance enhancement coach.” Warning: lots of anti-Metallica slander in this ep!
Sources:
- Berlinger, J., & Sinofsky, B. (Directors). (2004). *Metallica: Some Kind of Monster* [Film]. IFC Films....
Rachel and Ash make a guest appearance on one of their favorite podcasts, Culture Study, to chat with Anne Helen Petersen about the rise of therapy speak, their least-favorite therapized buzz words, and why this kind of language has become so frustratingly prevalent.
Hosted by Anne Helen Petersen. Produced by Melody Rowell.
This one’s a little different: First, Rachel talks to her uncle, John Monroe, who was subjected to conversion therapy in the 1970s. Then Rachel & Ash discuss a few of the harmful pseudoscientists who have tried (and failed) to use psychology to turn queer people straight over the years.
SOURCES:
Ash (INTP) & Rachel (ENFP) explore the very strange origin story of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator — a journey that ventures into erotic Carl Jung fanfiction, an intense mother-daughter dynamic, and the most upsetting hot chocolate recipe you’ll ever hear about.
Rachel and Ash discuss the astonishing abundance of coaches via an exploration of The Life Coach School, a glossy (and expensive!) program with some MLM-esque overtones.
SOURCES:
- I’m a Life Coach, You’re a Life Coach: The Rise of an Unregulated Industry - https://www.theguardian.com/
- LifeCoachSnark subreddit - https://www.reddi...
Ash & Rachel discuss the hot new Tiktok trend: #shadowwork. What is the shadow and why are all these Austin influencers suddenly preoccupied with it?
SOURCES:
Rachel Monroe and Ash Compton introduce Bad Therapist. Topics include: the conception for the pod, their bad therapists, and, somehow, puppets.
Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.
Welcome to Bad Therapist, a podcast about the shadow side of mental health, and the scammers and manipulators who reside there. Cads, opportunists, and charlatans have been a part of the world of psychology since the beginning; some of them have even made lasting contributions to the field. Bad Therapist delves into two centuries of sketchy behavior, spanning everything from questionable nineteenth-century hypnotists to the TikTok-...
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