From unqualified therapists planting false memories in vulnerable people and an obsession with labels to ‘therapy boasting’ on Hinge and the weaponisation of ‘therapy speak’, we deep-dive into the dark side of the therapy boom. Plus, what makes a good therapist, and can AI offer an accessible alternative to what has become a luxury? We hope you enjoy this special bonus hunnies, we’ll be back with our usual Thursday pop culture debrief tomorrow!

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Recs:

• Dangerous Memories podcast 
• My therapist told me Mum had abused me. She hadn’t, Times
• The therapist who planted false memories, Pandora Sykes, Substack
• How the language of therapy took over dating, NYT
• Nobody has a personality anymore, Substack
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns users not to trust ChatGPT agent with sensitive or personal data, Decoder 
• Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens, NYT
• He Had a Mental Breakdown Talking to ChatGPT. Then Police Killed Him, Rolling Stone
• What does bad therapy actually look like? Stylist
• Can AI therapists really be an alternative to human help? BBC

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