Therapy should challenge you

Too many therapists assume the role of advocate — possibly rendering them worse than no therapist at all. Their patients should dump them and find replacements who are brutally unafraid of crushing their egos.

From Why I fired my therapists, by Foster Kamer, August 16, 2023, in The Washington Post.

I completely agree.

This article isn’t against therapy. It’s against just what it says: therapists who don’t challenge you, the patient, therapists who never tell you that you are wrong, who just agree with you always and what you want to do and that tell you that anyone you feel wronged by is “toxic.”

That’s not therapy and it’s not helpful.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t toxic people and that you shouldn’t avoid toxic people. But if your therapist is never confronting you about your own behavior, is never questioning you about decisions going forward, you don’t have a therapist – you have a lackey. If you like absolutely everything your therapist says and always feel great, never ever confronted or questioned after you leave a therapy appointment, fire your therapist.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *