Bad Therapy, Abigail Shrier
Bad Therapy, Abigail Shrier
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Bad Therapy
Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up

Bestseller

Author: Abigail Shrier

Narrator: Abigail Shrier

Unabridged: 8 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 02/27/2024


Synopsis

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 depressionSocial 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-read for anyone questioning why our efforts to bolster America’s kids have backfired—and what it will take for parents to lead a turnaround.

About The Author

Abigail Shrier received the Barbara Olson Award for Excellence and Independence in Journalism in 2021. Her bestselling book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (2020), was named a “Best Book” by the Economist and the Times. It has been translated into ten languages.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Chris on March 04, 2024

The overall argument in this book is that we’re pathologizing children too much and saying they have mental health issues rather than just letting them have a normal childhood. Abigail tells a quick story at the beginning of the book about how she took her son into the ER or an urgent care for stoma......more

Goodreads review by Malka on February 27, 2024

I very rarely read non-fiction as you can tell from my bookshelf! But I couldn’t put this book down—I devoured it in 1 day. Abigail brings a totally fresh perspective to a problem that anyone with teenagers can attest to—a generation of kids who aren’t launching. I really appreciated the combination......more

Goodreads review by Corinne on July 09, 2024

"Having kids is the best, most worthy thing you could possibly do. Raise them well. You're the only one who can." Wow. As a therapist AND a mom, this book was a mix of emotions for me. The thing is, Shrier is not wrong about therapists and it's something I have decried in this field. The over diagnos......more

Goodreads review by mark on September 29, 2024

updated review I spent a lot of time thinking about this book and talking about its ideas and positions, first to a group of progressive friends, then to one of my closest friends who has been in therapy for years, and then to friends whose kids have various mental health diagnoses. Illuminating conv......more

Goodreads review by Josiah on July 07, 2024

I've thought a fair bit about this book since reading it. It makes a lot of insightful points I haven't seen other people make yet. It also said a lot of things I strongly disagree with. As I've reflected on this book, I'm glad I read it because of how much it sharpened me, and I may recommend the bo......more


Quotes

"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

“A powerful critique of a culture in which ‘traumatic’ describes anything from horrific abuse to your new laptop going on the blink.”—Elizabeth Gaufberg, MD, associate professor of medicine and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

“Shocking, revelatory, and eminently important... A must read!”—Amy Chua, Yale law professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Golden Gate

“Five stars.”—Caitlin Flanagan, staff writer at The Atlantic

“A dazzling combination of investigative reporting and story-telling.”—Gerald Posner, award-winning investigative journalist and author of Pharma

"An astute and impassioned analysis of the mental-health crisis now afflicting adolescents." —Kay Hymowitz, City Journal

“Fascinating, urgent.”Bari Weiss, Free Press

Bad Therapy takes a sledgehammer to every article of therapeutic parenting and pedagogical faith.”—Mary Harrington, Unherd

"Pacy, no-holds barred....a thought-provoking, though uncomfortable, read."—Financial Times