Latest Episode:
Episode 29 - VBT in History (1940s): Old-Timey Psychoanalysis Propaganda
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.
Episode 28 - VBT in Focus: Dr. Chris Hoff on Curiosity, Knowing, and Failure
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.
Episode 27 - The Negative Effects of Therapy (with Jørgen A. Flor)
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.
Episode 26 - “If You Say Yes to This…”
"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.
Episode 25 - VBT in History (1930s): Were Lobotomies Ever a Good Idea?
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.
Episode 24 - Misadventure Therapy (with Will Dobud, MSW)
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.
Episode 23 - Very Bad Graduate School
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.
Episode 22 - A Clinic On Unprofessionalism (with Katie Vernoy, LMFT)
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.
Episode 21 - VBT in History (1920s): Very Bad Supervision
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.
Episode 20 - When Therapists Need Therapy
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.
Episode 19 - How Military Mental Health Care Works (with Julie Payne, LMFT)
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.
Episode 18 - VBT in Focus: Dr. Scott Miller on Better Results
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.
Episode 17 - The Thorny Terminator
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.
Episode 16 - VBT in History (1910s): Too Many Eugenicists
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.
Episode 15 - Child's Play (with Megan Costello, LMFT)
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.
Episode 14 - Women Don't Want to Work
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.
Episode 13 - Cuddle Therapy
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.
Episode 12 -VBT in History (1900s): Some A+ Oppression Right There
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.
Episode 11 - The Intake Process is a Mess (with Dr. Daryl Chow)
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.
Episode 10 - On Harm Reduction Therapy (with Lauren Cohn-Frankel, AMFT)
Today's episode is a deep dive into the nuances of harm reduction therapy. How does stigmatization, politicization, and cultural bias regarding substance use influence the way mental health professionals view and work with their clients? What happens when abstinence is not a client's preferred option? Also, Ben and Carrie say hello to Sweden!