Therapist defensiveness is a recurring theme in stories of bad therapy. In this week’s episode, Suzanne shares her experience with a therapist whose defensiveness was expressed in gratuitous displays of power and dismissive remarks. Plus, Dr. Nathan Castle rejoins the show to explore the topics of defensiveness, radical acceptance of clients, and the importance of transparency.

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Donate to Nacoa
• Why do depressed people prefer sad music?
• Spotify - Deep Focus Playlist
• Dr. Nathan Castle's Website
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

This week’s story from Ashley has all the markings of bad family therapy. But did the interventions work? Ashley shares her experience as a teenager in crisis being threatened with inpatient care and alarms on her door, and Angela Caldwell makes us question everything we know about what constitutes good therapy. Is it OK to trick clients if it leads to successful outcomes?

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Donate to The Opal Center
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

A satanic panic in the early 1980s culminated in the McMartin Preschool abuse trial, the then-longest and most expensive criminal trial in American history. The trial centered around 359 allegations of ritualistic satanic child abuse and concluded with zero convictions and a new understanding of the unreliability of recovered memories.  The satanic panic has subsided, but its indirect effects are still present today in how therapists work with childhood trauma.

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Conviction of Things Not Seen: The Uniquely American Myth of Satanic Cults
• Michelle Remembers (Wikipedia)
• Proof Lacking for Ritual Abuse by Satanists
• The Dark Truth About the "Dark Tunnels of McMartin"
• Interviewer's Methods Seen as Key Issue in Preschool Case
• The Most Dangerous Idea in Mental Health
• Recovered Memories
• Interview with Dr. Loftus: Does Repressed Memory Happen?
• 'Some days I think I was molested, others I'm not sure': inside a case of repressed memory
• Ground Lost: The False Memory/Recovered Memory Therapy Debate
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

This week’s story from Alison is a throwback to high school and all of Carrie and Ben’s greatest fears around teenage embarrassment. We discuss interventions that are better left unsaid (telling an underage client to share romantic feelings with her softball coach) and others that have questionable validity (House-Tree-Person and Rorschach tests). Plus, what does modern science have to say about Instagram Face?

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Note: This episode was recorded in early March.

Show Notes:

• New study finds women wearing heavy makeup are viewed as having less human-like traits
• House-Tree-Person test
• The Problem With The Rorschach: It Doesn't Work
• Rorschach test (Wikipedia)
• Collaborative Therapy
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Scott Miller and Daryl Chow return to the podcast to discuss their new book, Better Results: Using Deliberate Practice to Improve Therapeutic Effectiveness.  Topics include the importance of targeting individual strengths and deficits in a system of learning, how to get out of the performance zone, the significance of a coach, and ideas for changing the ways in which psychotherapy is taught.

VBT in Focus is a series of sporadic episodes in which Carrie and Ben have the privilege of chatting with their favorite thinkers in the field of psychotherapy. Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Better Results: Using Deliberate Practice to Improve Therapeutic Effectiveness
• The Heart & Soul of Change: Delivering What Works in Therapy
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

What should therapists know about working with individuals with disabilities? In this week’s episode, Joy Wolf joins us to share her personal story about two therapists who responded to her disability in very different yet similarly problematic ways. We also discuss the impact of privilege, therapist uncertainty, and the limitations in how we are trained to work with clients with disabilities.

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Donate to Shriners Hospitals
• Joy Wolf, LCSW | Psychology Today
• Frontiers of Psychotherapist Development Podcast
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

An urgent conversation about the role of therapists in doing the most public good during the coronavirus outbreak. Pat Wiita, MD and Farah Zerehi, MS explore the science, needed actions, and social justice implications of the pandemic, and Ben Caldwell, PsyD discusses what you need to know about shifting your practice to telehealth services. Please share this episode anywhere you feel it might make an impact.

If you have expertise or information related to the pandemic that you feel is important to share with the psychotherapy community, email us at [email protected].

Note: A previous version of this episode contained information about Zoom being HIPAA compliant. This is only true for the Zoom for Healthcare option ($200/month), not the free and low-tier paid options.

This week’s captivating story from Paloma brings together themes of postpartum depression and therapist specialization. Paloma offers insight into the harmful impact of societal narratives about motherhood and Curt Widhalm rejoins the podcast to explain what specialization actually means – and when it’s just a marketing tool with dangerous consequences.

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Donate to Project NATEEN
• Dog ownership might reduce loneliness
• Are You Sure You are a Specialist?
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

Philip Zimbardo rode the impact of the Stanford Prison Experiment to international renown. Perhaps he forgot to mention that his famous research was more performance art than psychological experiment. In our eighth of twelve history episodes, we look at the common narratives and impact of the SPE, and then consider recently uncovered evidence to the contrary. Plus, Carrie makes sense of Zimbardo’s 7,000 word response to the new criticisms.

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment
• The Lifespan of a Lie
• Will the Stanford Prison Experiment Ever Die?
• Rationally Speaking: RS 241 - Thibault Le Texier on "Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment"
• The Stanford Prison Experiment was massively influential. We just learned it was a fraud.
• Beware the Epiphany-Industrial Complex
• Philip Zimbardo's Response to Recent Criticisms of the Stanford Prison Experiment
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story

This week’s story from Farah touches on many common themes of bad therapy: disempowerment, unsolicited advice, misrepresenting qualifications, and more. We explore how early-career therapists can be transparent about their lack of experience while still creating client buy-in, what research suggests about giving advice to clients, and the importance of feedback. Plus, Carrie reflects on the gender power dynamic on this podcast and between male therapists and female or non-binary clients. Stay tuned afterward for a teaser of the most recent VBT Patreon episode!

Thank you for listening. Support the show by becoming a monthly subscriber on Patreon to receive access to bonus episodes or by making a one-time contribution via PayPal.

Show Notes:

• Donate to Angel City Pit Bulls
• Do psychotherapists improve with time and experience? A longitudinal analysis of outcomes in a clinical setting.
• Advice Giving in Psychotherapy
• Solicited and Unsolicited Therapist Advice in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Is it Advised
• Where is the Evidence for "Evidence-Based" Therapy
• Dr. Nathan Castle's Wesbite and Data Visualization
• Very Bad Therapy: Website / Facebook / Tell Us Your Story