Latest Episode:
Episode 107 - Patreon Selects: Ask Us Anything!
We’re long overdue for a good old-fashioned Q&A episode. You’ve sent in your questions, and we’re here to opine about everything from the importance of therapists getting their own therapy to the curious reluctance of the mental health field to embrace social psychology. Plus, we begrudgingly discuss the latest TikTok therapist drama to make a point about when it might be better to actually reject client preferences in session…or something like that. Social media is the worst.
Episode 106 - Psycho, Education
What happens when a therapist and client have two very different conversational styles? Therapists can try to build rapport in many ways, which unfortunately is reflected in our guest Ben’s experience of being given terrible advice mislabeled as psychoeducation. Whether a client is talkative or reserved, one thing is for sure: randomly praising Donald Trump as a paragon of confidence is curious at best.
Episode 105 - Patreon Selects: The Elephant in the Therapy Room
Dr. Robin Hanson is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and the coauthor of The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life. He joins us along with guest host Dr. Alex Williams to explore what clients are subconsciously signaling when they seek therapy – and what therapists are signaling to others when they enter the field. Plus, why is feedback-informed treatment similar to paying a friend $100 for a home-cooked meal?
Episode 104 - Crises in the Time of Intake (with Dr. Ben Caldwell)
When does somebody officially become a client of therapy? And what happens if, before that distinction is made, crises occur and the therapeutic relationship unravels? Our guest Neith shares her experience navigating this scenario, and Dr. Ben Caldwell explains why little of this is clear cut, but some of it is clearly bad. Plus, we introduce a new segment: Is It Bad Therapy?
Episode 103 - Patreon Selects: The Therapists’ Side of the Story
On Very Bad Therapy, we seek to understand what it’s like for clients to have bad therapeutic experiences. Should we focus more on the therapists’ side of the story? Dr. Patrick Wiita joins us to continue our conversation from the end of episode #72 to discuss some very interesting questions:
Are we doing a disservice to our listeners by not considering the “bad” therapists’ point of view?
What are we suggesting by being unquestionably validating of our guests’ stories?
Is it even possible to have this podcast if we challenge our guests’ perspectives?
Plus, Carrie finds deep meaning in a breakfast sandwich.
Episode 102 - The Good and Bad of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (with Fred Kutnick, LMSW)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is considered the front-line treatment for borderline personality disorder. What exactly is DBT, and why is it nothing like the invalidating experience that Amy describes in today’s episode? To accept and change the reality of bad DBT, we speak with Fred Kutnick, LMSW about the propositions of good DBT.
Episode 101 - Bonus: Hollywood and Mental Health (with Thomas Lennon)
Thomas Lennon is an acclaimed actor and screenwriter, best-selling novelist, and most importantly, Carrie’s long-time friend. We break from our usual format to chat with Tom about his good experiences in therapy, the impact of fame on mental health, and Metallica getting family counseling together. This was a fun conversation – maybe next time we can talk with Paul Rudd!
Episode 100 - Patreon Selects: Is Good Therapy Just the Absence of Bad Therapy?
Carrie and Ben are joined by Dr. Will Dobud to discuss two burning questions: is good therapy just the absence of bad therapy, and should we ban the use of cognitive behavioral therapy? We explore the importance of teaching people to think about psychotherapy models differently, the appeal of bringing therapy back to its pragmatist roots, and what the biased origins of personality tests can teach us about taking precautions when using theories of pathology. Plus, what can we learn from the wonderful history of smoke enemas?
Episode 99 - Conversations With a Therapy Failure Expert
Beth is a self-described therapy failure expert. She joins us for the whole episode (and more!) as we discuss her personal bad therapy experiences, what therapists think of clients who disclose their stories of bad therapy, why therapists often struggle to provide specialized services, and the fact that some therapists simply aren’t good at making their clients feel understood.
Episode 98 - Incurable Diseases Are Not Problems to Solve (with Jill Johnson-Young, LCSW)
A therapist’s job is to help their clients. But what does “help” mean when a client has been diagnosed with an incurable disease? In this episode, Cassie shares her story of seeking emotional support for her diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer only to receive unhelpful fixes instead. Plus, Jill Johnson-Young returns to talk about supporting clients who are experiencing the grief of having to say goodbye.
Episode 97 - You Have to Hug Me Before You Leave
Dual relationships can be perfectly fine in therapy. But imagine if your therapist was also working with your good friend… and that friend’s girlfriend… and the therapist hired your friend to be her dog walker… and everyone’s private information was shared in session with no concern for confidentiality. That’s the first ten minutes of Anna’s story, and it gets worse from there. So, so much worse.
Episode 96 - New Therapist, Who Dis? (with Dr. Ben Caldwell)
What does it mean if a therapist suddenly changes their behavior? In this episode, Katie shares her experiences with two therapists who made significant adjustments and left her (and Ben and Carrie) confused about what happened. Plus, Dr. Ben Caldwell returns with fantastic metaphors about ethical gray areas and how therapists can adjust their boundaries and clinical style in a compassionate way.
Episode 95 - Post-Traumatic Stress Demonology
The cause of psychological distress is often complex and unknowable. There are many helpful theories to explain depression, anxiety, and trauma, but in this episode, Maria shares her bewildering experience with a therapist who had some less conventional ideas. This story features many different examples of bad therapy with a freaking exorcism included as an iatrogenic exclamation point.
Episode 94 - Trauma-Uninformed Therapy (with Dr. Chelsea Kilimnik)
Lots of therapists describe themselves as “trauma-informed.” Very few fail to live up to that title as inexplicably as what we hear in this episode, as Sarah shares her unfortunate therapy experience following a sexual assault. We also talk with Dr. Chelsea Kilimnik to learn more about how therapists can actually be trauma-informed when supporting survivors of sexual trauma.
Episode 93 - The Sociopath in the Therapy Room
Therapists have a lot of power. This episode is about a therapist who leveraged that power to abuse his clients.
Episode 92 - Crossing the Line (with Johannah Song, LPC)
Can wearing a cross be considered a type of bad therapy? This episode features a conversation with Johannah Song, LPC about the positive and negative ways therapists of faith can impact treatment by disclosing their religion. Plus, we talk about the right balance between expertise and curiosity, and why seeking consultation from a specialist is like baking a quiche.
Episode 91 - Guilt, Ghosting, and General Unpleasantness
This episode’s interview with Sara is about two therapists – one who was too friendly, and another who wasn’t friendly enough. What should therapists consider before using risky interventions such as guilt, self-disclosure, or icy behavior? We try to answer these questions and more as we go back down the rabbit hole of using service-dominant logic to make therapy more effective.
Episode 90 - VBT in Focus: New Ideas to Fix Old Problems
Who should we talk to next about how to break the decades-long plateau of client outcomes in psychotherapy? Short on ideas, we take it upon ourselves to try and crack the 45-year-old riddle about how to make therapy more effective. Ben has another existential crisis, Carrie converts to the religion of customer service, and we (eventually!) explore why the path to better outcomes might go directly through Starbucks and the hospitality industry. We want to hear your feedback on this one!
Episode 89 - The Widow and the Miracle Question (with Jill Johnson-Young, LCSW)
Jill Johnson-Young is an expert in the areas of dying, death, and grief. She also has the personal experiences that come with having been widowed twice, including stories of the bad grief therapy that followed. In this episode, Jill shares what therapists and clients should know about working with grief and all the reasons why the conventional wisdom about grief therapy is often counterproductive.
Episode 88 - Couples Therapy Bullshit (with Sade Kammen)
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.