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Bad Therapist

Ash Compton & Rachel Monroe

At a moment when therapy speak has made it into the mainstream and trauma is a national preoccupation, it's high time to examine the shadow side of mental health.

Bad Therapist Podcast takes an amused, informed look at the bad actors mucking around in the world of psychology. Cads, opportunists, and charlatans have been a part of this field since the beginning; some of them have even made lasting contributions to the field. Co-hosted by psychotherapist Ash Compton and journalist Rachel Monroe, both big fans of therapy and big critics of those who abuse its insights, Bad Therapist delves into two centuries of sketchy behavior, spanning everything from questionable nineteenth-century hypnotists to the TikTok-famous therapy hustlers.

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  • 19 episodes
  • Avg 50 min
  • English

Episodes 19

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  • S2 · E5
    June 10 · 1 hr 5 min

    Dr. Phil

    Rachel and Ash peer into the soul of Phil McGraw, Oprah's favorite straight-talking daytime TV guru, who has more recently pivoted to pro-ICE content creator. Folksy animal metaphors abound. Sources: Phil McGraw, Self Matters: Creating Your Life From the Inside Out, https://shop.drphil.com/products/book-self-matters-creating-your-life-from-the-inside-out-studio Sophia Dembling & Lisa Gutierrez, The Making of Dr Phil: The Straight-Talking True Story of Everyone's Favorite Therapist, https://www.strandbooks.com/the-making-of-dr-phil-the-straight-talking-true-story-of-everyone-s-favorite-therapist-9780471696599.html David Armstrong and Evan Allen, "Dr. Phil says he rescues people from addiction. Others say his show puts guests' health at risk," Stat News & Boston Globe - https://www.statnews.com/2017/12/28/dr-phil-guests-say-show-risks-health-of-some-addicts/ David Armstrong and Evan Allen, "How Dr. Phil's new addiction recovery venture trades on his TV show's marketing clout," Stat News & Boston Globe - https://www.statnews.com/2017/12/29/dr-phil-path-to-recovery/ Scaachi Koul, "Dr. Do Nothing," BuzzFeed News - https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/scaachikoul/dr-phil-mcgraw-mental-health-danielle-bregoli Dennis Cass, "Dr. Phil Is a Softie," Slate - https://slate.com/culture/2003/10/dr-phil-s-fat-fighting-crusade.html David K. Li, Janhvi Bhojwani and Toby Lyles, "How 'Dr. Phil' suddenly became so outspoken about immigration," NBC - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dr-phil-immigration-ice-raids-rcna189691 Nitish Pahwa, "Just What the Doctor Ordered," Slate - https://slate.com/business/2025/10/dr-phil-mcgraw-donald-trump-merit-media-maga.html Lisa de Moraes, "On Dr. Phil, a Dose of Bad Medicine?" Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63905-2004Sep30.html Matt Flegenheimer, "Dr. Phil's Road From Oprah to ICE Raids," New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/style/dr-phils-road-from-oprah-to-ice-raids.html Merit Street Media YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@newsonmeritstreet/videos Eric Rasmussen & David Ewoldsen, "Treatment via Television: The Relation Between Watching Dr. Phil and Viewers' Intentions to Seek Mental Health Treatment," Journal of Health Communication - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10810730.2015.1114054 Colton Wooten, "My Years in the Florida Shuffle of Drug Addiction," New Yorker - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/21/my-years-in-the-florida-shuffle-of-drug-addiction Teen Torture, Inc. HBO - https://play.hbomax.com/show/6e25d97c-26ec-439b-83ef-6b3cca5af597

  • S2 · E4
    May 27 · 1 hr 12 min

    Wilhelm Reich

    Ash and Rachel explore the checkered career of Wilhelm Reich, and try not to get too boxed in about it. Sources: Wilhelm Reich, The Sexual Revolution, 1945 Wilhelm Reich, Selected Writings, 1960 Peter Reich, A Book of Dreams, 1973 Christopher Turner, Adventures in the Orgasmatron, 2011 "Weatherwatcher: Wilhelm Reich's Cloudbuster," David Hambling, The Guardian, July 6 2011: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2011/jul/06/weatherwatch-cloudbuster Stillpoint Berlin, Re-reading the psychology of Wilhelm Reich, "Life and Work in the Modern Work System," by Christian Smith, January 25, 2017: https://youtu.be/0YqNW2w9vWc?si=7iMzSUQTl6pRHrDa https://wilhelmreichmuseum.org/about/biography-of-wilhelm-reich/ "The New Cult of Sex and Anarchy," Mildred Eddy Brady, Harpers 1947: https://harpers.org:8443/archive/1947/04/the-new-cult-of-sex-and-anarchy/

  • S2 · E3
    May 13 · 1 hr 3 min

    Neuro-Linguistic Programming

    Rachel and Ash venture into the world of neuro-linguistic programming, trying (and failing) to use word-spells to get everything they've ever wanted. Content warning: NXIVM, murder, pick-up artists. Sources: Frank Clancy & Heidi Yorkshire, "The Bander Method" - Mother Jones, Feb/Mar 1989 https://books.google.com/books?id=DOcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q&f=false Robert S. Spitzer, "Virginia Satir & Origins of NLP" - https://www.social-engineer.org/wiki/archives/NLP/NLP-Satir395.pdf Tomasz Witkowski, "Thirty-Five Years of Research on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP Research Data Base. State of the Art or Pseudoscientific Decoration?" Polish Psychological Bulletin - https://philpapers.org/rec/WITTYO Richard Wiseman, et al., "The Eyes Don't Have It: Lie Detection and Neuro-Linguistic Programming," PLoS ONE - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0040259 Terrence McClendon, The Wild Days: NLP 1972-1981 - https://archive.org/details/wilddays0000mccl Toni Natalie & Chet Hardin, The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-program-inside-the-mind-of-keith-raniere-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-nxivm-chet-hardin/6d3afa01e96ff5ad Ross Jeffries, How To Get the Women You Desire Into Bed - https://www.maerivoet.org/website/links/miscellaneous/speed-seduction-book/resources/speed-seduction-book.pdf Neil Strauss, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-game-penetrating-the-secret-society-of-pickup-artists-neil-strauss/659bc135ee8fb93e Louis Theroux Tests out Hypnotic Dating - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn_oqEOtLYU

  • April 29 · 1 hr 5 min

    Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

    Rachel and Ash explore the work of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross and her five stages of death/grief. A scammy cult is involved, because a scammy cult always seems to be involved. SOURCES: Elizabeth Kübler-Ross - On Death and Dying (1969) Elizabeth Kübler-Ross - On Life After Death (1991) Elizabeth Kübler-Ross - The Wheel of Life: A Memoir (1997) Jessica Weisberg - Asking for a Friend: Three Centuries of Advice on Life, Love, Money, and Other Burning Questions from a Nation Obsessed (2007) "Doctor Noted for Work with the Dying Involved in Controversy Over Seances," Los Angeles Times, October 15, 1979 Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • S2 · E1
    April 15 · 58 min

    AI Chatbot Therapy

    Ash and Rachel delve into the world of chatbot therapy -- sit back and listen as the machines glitch out and reveal their true selves. SOURCES: Hillman, James, and Michael Ventura. We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy – And the World's Getting Worse. New York: HarperCollins, 1992 (e-book version 2007) Balan, Raluca, and Thomas P. Gumpel. "ChatGPT Clinical Use in Mental Health Care: Scoping Review of Empirical Evidence." JMIR Mental Health (via PMC), December 24, 2025 Lewis-Kraus, Gideon. (2026). What is Claude? Anthropic Doesn't Know, Either. Retrieved from:https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/what-is-claude-anthropic-doesnt-know-either Luo, Xiaochen, et al. ""Shaping ChatGPT into my Digital Therapist": A thematic analysis of social media discourse on using generative artificial intelligence for mental health." Digital Health, vol. 11, June 3, 2025 Raile, Paolo. "The usefulness of ChatGPT for psychotherapists and patients." Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, January 4, 2024 Solms, M. (2013). The Conscious Id. Neuropsychoanalysis, 15(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2013.10773711 https://www.thehumanlineproject.org/ ** in-episode correction: Pat Ogden created Sensorimotor Psychotherapy not Somatic Experiencing (this was Peter Levine)** Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • S1 · E9
    Feb 26, 2025 · 45 min

    Hysteria: Part 2

    Part Two of Two on Hysteria. Ash and Rachel seek knowns and unknowns about the contested origins of Hysteria finding its way into the emergent psychological annals. Golden Siggie takes the lead. Find metaphors doing *the most* in a teen's dreams, and more! This is the last of our current season. If Bad Therapist is pleasing to your psyche, please rate, review and subscribe. We hope to see you for Season 2! SOURCES Gilman, Sander L., Helen King, Roy Porter, G. S. Rousseau, and Elaine Showalter. Hysteria Beyond Freud. University of California Press, 1993. Scull, Andrew. Hysteria: The Disturbing History. Oxford University Press, 2021. Freud, Sigmund. Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria. Touchstone, 1997 (originally published 1905). Malcolm, Janet. "Trouble in the Archives—II: The Battle Over Sigmund Freud's Secret." The New Yorker, December 12, 1983. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • S1 · E8
    Feb 19, 2025 · 53 min

    Hysteria: Part 1

    Part One of Two on Hysteria. Ash and Rachel dig into the tangled history of this complex and ever-evolving diagnosis, starting with its medical origins. From ancient theories to outdated treatments, we're pulling from the antiquated archives to unpack the evolution of this so-called malady. Stay tuned for Part Two next week—Freud on Hysteria! SOURCES: Gilman, Sander L., Helen King, Roy Porter, G. S. Rousseau, and Elaine Showalter. Hysteria Beyond Freud. University of California Press, 1993. Acocella, Joan. Creating Hysteria: Women and Multiple Personality Disorder. Jossey-Bass, 1999. Scull, Andrew. Hysteria: The Disturbing History. Oxford University Press, 2021. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • Feb 12, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min

    You're Wrong About: Bad Therapist

    This week, in honor of St. Valentine's Day, Bad Therapist makes a special guest appearance on a favorite podcast, You're Wrong About, to get to the bottom of Emotional Labor— a sociological and labor-related construct that has snuck its way into impersonal realms and colloquialisms. And in doing so, we solve the entire country's relationship problems— you're welcome. Hosted by Sarah Marshall. Produced by Carolyn Kendrick RESOURCES: Hochschild, Arlie Russell. The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of California Press, 1983. Hackman, Jess. "Where's My Cut? On Unpaid Emotional Labor." The Toast, July 13, 2015. [MetaFilter Discussion: "Where's My Cut? On Unpaid Emotional Labor"](https://www.metafilter.com/151267/Wheres-My-Cut-On-Unpaid-Emotional-Labor). Hackman, Rose. Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Claim Our Power. Flatiron Books, 2023.

  • S1 · E7
    Jan 22, 2025 · 54 min

    Polarity

    Rachel and Ash discuss an idea that's all the rage among coaches and influencer types in Austin and elsewhere: polarity. Spoiler alert: it's essentially a New Age-y version of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, and its inventor has some of the worst ideas we've ever heard about how to respond to an angry woman (….tickle her????). Sources: The Madelyn Moon Show - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU8GwCzSVVno7KHfqNFdqrw What is the Divine Feminine? - https://maddymoon.com/blog/divine-feminine What is the Divine Masculine? - https://maddymoon.com/blog/divine-masculine-2 Divine Polarity in Relationships - https://maddymoon.com/blog/divine-polarity Madelyn Moon on polarity & the patriarchy - https://www.instagram.com/madelynmoon/p/CjQYV7rLr7O/ John Wineland - https://www.youtube.com/@JohnWineland Breath of Fire - HBO documentary on Guru Jagat - https://www.hbo.com/breath-of-fire Deida, David (1997). The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire - https://deida.info/the-way-of-the-superior-man/ Deida, David (2002). Dear Lover: A Woman's Guide to Men, Sex, and Love's Deepest Bliss - https://deida.info/dear-lover/ Jung, C. G. (1964). Man and His Symbols. Dell Publishing. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • S1 · E6
    Jan 8, 2025 · 55 min

    Rock & Roll Therapists

    Ash and Rachel tackle two bad therapists (or one bad therapist and one flawed-but-relatable ex-therapist) who worked with the rich and famous: Eugene Landy, the man who trapped and swindled Brian Wilson, and Phil Towle, Metallica's "performance enhancement coach." Warning: lots of anti-Metallica slander in this ep! Sources: Berlinger, J., & Sinofsky, B. (Directors). (2004). *Metallica: Some Kind of Monster* [Film]. IFC Films. Hilburn, R. (1988, June 26). *Brian Wilson: Surfacing Again.* *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-26-tm-8498-story.html Oppenheimer, M. (2006, December 31). *Dr. Landy's Cure for Brian Wilson.* *The New York Times Magazine*. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/magazine/31barrett_landy.t.html Piccalo, G. (2004, April 21). *The Complex Legacy of Brian Wilson and Dr. Eugene Landy.* *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-apr-21-et-piccalo21-story.html Pohlad, B. (Director). (2014). *Love & Mercy* [Film]. Lionsgate.

  • Jan 1, 2025 · 52 min

    Culture Study: Bad Therapist

    Rachel and Ash make a guest appearance on one of their favorite podcasts, Culture Study, to chat with Anne Helen Petersen about the rise of therapy speak, their least-favorite therapized buzz words, and why this kind of language has become so frustratingly prevalent. Hosted by Anne Helen Petersen. Produced by Melody Rowell.

  • S1 · E5
    Dec 11, 2024 · 56 min

    Conversion Therapy

    This one's a little different: First, Rachel talks to her uncle, John Monroe, who was subjected to conversion therapy in the 1970s. Then Rachel & Ash discuss a few of the harmful pseudoscientists who have tried (and failed) to use psychology to turn queer people straight over the years. SOURCES: -Arana, G. (2012.) My So-Called Ex-Gay Life. American Prospect. Retrieved from https://prospect.org/civil-rights/so-called-ex-gay-life/ -Roughgarden, J. (2004). Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. University of California Press. -Waidzunas, T. (2015.) The Straight Line; How the Fringe Science of Ex-Gay Therapy Reoriented Sexuality. University of Minnesota Press. -Yoshino, K. (2002). Covering. Yale Law Journal, 111(4), 769–939. Retrieved from https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/covering Bad Therapist's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badtherapistpod Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • S1 · E4
    Dec 4, 2024 · 1 hr 3 min

    The Unexpected Origins of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

    Ash (INTP) & Rachel (ENFP) explore the very strange origin story of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator — a journey that ventures into erotic Carl Jung fanfiction, an intense mother-daughter dynamic, and the most upsetting hot chocolate recipe you'll ever hear about. SOURCES: -Emre, M. (2018). The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing. Doubleday. -Briggs, K. C. (1947). The Personality Paintbox. Published privately. -Cook Briggs, K. E. (n.d.). The Man from Zurich. Unpublished manuscript. Katharine E. Cook Papers. -Hirsh, S. K., & Kummerow, J. M. (1998). Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type in Organizations (4th ed.). The Myers-Briggs Company. -Psychology In Seattle. (2021). The History of Myers-Briggs Personality Test. [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN7Fmt1i5TI -Thompson, H., & Richmond, S. (1987). Jungian Type Indicator Manual. CAPT Publishing. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes. ᐧ

  • S1 · E3
    Nov 27, 2024 · 54 min

    The Life Coach School

    Rachel and Ash discuss the astonishing abundance of coaches via an exploration of The Life Coach School, a glossy (and expensive!) program with some MLM-esque overtones. SOURCES: - I'm a Life Coach, You're a Life Coach: The Rise of an Unregulated Industry - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/06/life-coaching-brooke-castillo-unregulated-industry - LifeCoachSnark subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeCoachSnark/ - The Dream podcast - season 3 - https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-dream - The Life Coach School - https://www.thelifecoachschool.com/ - The Life Coach School podcast - https://www.thelifecoachschool.com/podcast - Live Coaching Highlights with Brooke Castillo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Pc4CXBMiU&t - The International Coaching Federation - https://coachingfederation.org/ Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • S1 · E2
    Nov 21, 2024 · 49 min

    The Shadow Side of Shadow Work

    Ash & Rachel discuss the hot new Tiktok trend: #shadowwork. What is the shadow and why are all these Austin influencers suddenly preoccupied with it? SOURCES: - How a Self-Published Book Broke 'All the Rules' and Became a Best Seller - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/books/booksupdate/keila-shaheen-shadow-work-journal-tiktok.html - Keila Shaheen's Shadow Work Journal - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Shadow-Work-Journal/Keila-Shaheen/9781668069189 - Julian Himself - https://www.tiktok.com/@julienhimself - Julian's CNN "apology" for his manosphere behavior - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPT5dFHK3wo&t=85s - Shaheen, K. (2020). *Shadow Work Journal: A Guide to Integrate and Transcend Your Shadows.* (1st ed.). Independently published. - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julien_Blanc - Johnson, R. A. (1991). *Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche.* HarperOne. - Zweig, C., & Abrams, J. (Eds.). (1991). *Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature.* TarcherPerigee. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes. ᐧ

  • S1 · E1
    Nov 21, 2024 · 1 hr 4 min

    The Sullivanians - A Therapeutic Commune Gone Wrong

    Rachel & Ash discuss the Sullivanians/Fourth Wall community, a collective of self-credentialed therapists with great real estate and solid politics that, can you believe it, turned into something pretty sinister. SOURCES: -The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune by Alexander Stille - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-sullivanians-free-love-psychotherapy-and-the-wild-life-of-america-s-largest-urban-commune-alexander-stille/18789052 -The Sullivanians - Through a Blue Window podcast, by Shelley Feinerman https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sullivanians-through-a-blue-window-c-2019/id1697359383 -https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/24/archives/-good-me-or-bad-me-the-sullivan-approach-to-personality-starting.html (https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/24/archives/-good-me-or-bad-me-the-sullivan-approach-to-personality-starting.html) - Crowley, R.M. (1971). *Notes on Sullivan's Approach to the Science of Man.* *Contemporary Psychoanalysis*, 8(1), 64–70. - Crowley, R.M. *Harry Stack Sullivan as Social Critic.* William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, New York. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • Nov 18, 2024 · 12 min

    Welcome to Bad Therapist

    Rachel Monroe and Ash Compton introduce Bad Therapist. Topics include: the conception for the pod, their bad therapists, and, somehow, puppets. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

  • Nov 16, 2024 · 1 min

    Trailer

    Welcome to Bad Therapist, a podcast about the shadow side of mental health, and the scammers and manipulators who reside there. Cads, opportunists, and charlatans have been a part of the world of psychology since the beginning; some of them have even made lasting contributions to the field. Bad Therapist delves into two centuries of sketchy behavior, spanning everything from questionable nineteenth-century hypnotists to the TikTok-famous therapy hustlers. At a moment when therapy speak has good mainstream attention and trauma is a national preoccupation, it's high time to examine the dark side of mental health. Hosted by Ash Compton (a psychotherapist) and Rachel Monroe (a journalist), both big fans of therapy and big critics of those who abuse its insights. Produced by Zoe Kurland. Music by Flock of Dimes.

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