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Bad Therapy

Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up

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Bad Therapy

Written by: Abigail Shrier
Narrated by: Abigail Shrier
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About this listen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.

From the author of Irreversible Damage, an investigation into a mental health industry that is harming, not healing, American children

In virtually every way that can be measured, Gen Z’s mental health is worse than that of previous generations. Youth suicide rates are climbing, antidepressant prescriptions for children are common, and the proliferation of mental health diagnoses has not helped the staggering number of kids who are lonely, lost, sad and fearful of growing up. What’s gone wrong with America’s youth?

In Bad Therapy, bestselling investigative journalist Abigail Shrier argues that the problem isn’t the kids—it’s the mental health experts. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with child psychologists, parents, teachers, and young people, Shrier explores the ways the mental health industry has transformed the way we teach, treat, discipline, and even talk to our kids. She reveals that most of the therapeutic approaches have serious side effects and few proven benefits. Among her unsettling findings:

  • Talk therapy can induce rumination, trapping children in cycles of anxiety and depression
  • Social Emotional Learning handicaps our most vulnerable children, in both public schools and private
  • “Gentle parenting” can encourage emotional turbulence—even violence—in children as they lash out, desperate for an adult in charge

Mental health care can be lifesaving when properly applied to children with severe needs, but for the typical child, the cure can be worse than the disease. Bad Therapy is a must-listen for anyone questioning why our efforts to bolster America’s kids have backfired—and what it will take for parents to lead a turnaround.

©2024 Abigail Shrier (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Parenting & Families Politics & Government Relationships Mental Health Thought-Provoking
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What the critics say

"Every parent should read this."—Elon Musk

“Essential reading for parents, teachers, and mental health professionals.”—Richard J. McNally, PhD, professor of psychology at Harvard University

“Shrier persuasively and forcefully demonstrates how mental health professionals (and some parents) often make things worse for the kids and adolescents they aim to help."—Elizabeth Loftus, distinguished professor of psychological science at University of California, Irvine

What listeners say about Bad Therapy

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new perspective that challenges the common narrative

if your considering the book at all just listen to it, you won't be disappointed. it blew my mind the things people are doing to there kids

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Mandatory listening for all parents, teachers and the mental health industrial complex perpetrators.

Our modern ideas about parenthood and mental health have destroyed a generation. Please take in this book and come to terms with how bad we have messed this up, and we have to turn the ship around right away.

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Harsh, but needed to hear it.

Harsh critique on the unmonitored and unaccountable mental health professionals. Insightful observations. Might not agree on everything but, as a parent, I needed to hear all of it. Time well spent.

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Comprehensive must read

So much more than the title states, this book touches on many issues parents face raising kids in today’s world. This is a must read for all parents- arguably more important than the parenting books often turned to for advice in raising healthy, resilient children.

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Honest, Captivating, Pointed and Appreciated

This book reignited my ability to think critically about raising my own children. Getting swept in fads and parenting on autopilot has been tempting since becoming a parent, but this book was really what I needed to hear. She so eloquently articulates that our responsibility to our kids is ours alone, and I really needed to hear this.

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Eye opening

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Every parent should read it. Knowledge we grew up with but failing to pass it to our kids.

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A Must Read, Especially For Dads

Shrier's work provides a much needed balance to the unchecked wave of therapeutic language and interventions pervasive in the West today.

If you learn nothing else, familiarize yourself with the concept of iatrogenesis, the unintentional causation of an unfavorable health condition during the process of providing medical care. We are all conscious of medical risks for our bodies - so much so that only trained professionals are allowed to provide bodily medical care. But the modern approach to therapeutic care doesn't involve a moment's thought on the potential downsides of invading someone's (especially children's) mental life.

Despite being the most therapized people of all time, mental health outcomes for Gen Z is at an all time low. Shrier provides sobering insight into why this is.

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What an eye-opener!

This was well-researched food for thought and a return to common sense from a journalist who's a mom, and unwilling to give up her role as a parent in an educational world that says "leave it to the experts"... except that they aren't.

After reading her previous book and this one... I'm a fan, Abigail! You GO, girl!

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Educational!

As a mom of teens and as a teacher of high school students I recommend this book for it’s clear analysis of the situation we find ourselves with overly anxious kids today. The book provides concise advice and an informative overview of how to help our youth.

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A good lens to view the common rhetoric through

This book provides a much needed “other side” to the common rhetoric on raising children. There are many key issues raised that are not discussed in homes or schools as often as they should be. I would recommend this to any parent or educator.

Unfortunately it can at times be rather accusatory/politicized and at times misrepresents the guidance of some experts with the most dramatic of anecdotes. So read it with a deep breath and a few grains of salt, but definitely read it.

I only wish there was a more balanced discussion instead of the polarized approach that many authors take on the subject of raising children.

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1 person found this helpful