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Re: Therapist a mini-cult leader?
Posted by: Misstyk ()
Date: September 11, 2024 01:45AM

I'd like to bring attention to a trend in the psychotherapy community that's very concerning. For a couple of decades now at least, some therapists have been getting trained in something called "radical acceptance". The interpretation of that term that's being popularized means, that the client should accept responsibility for everything that happens to them. This includes even health downturns, catching a cold or flu, etc.

So if someone seeks therapy for trauma, perhaps a rape, or a frightening stalker, the client is encouraged to take responsibility for this situation. Of course this comes across as victim-blaming, but the therapists who adhere to this approach will never admit that. The victim-blaming can reach the level of the absurd, when the therapist insists that the reason the client's tormentor fixated on the client is that the client glanced in his direction, thereby catching his attention. Never mind that the client was only looking at the clock on the wall behind the individual, or was looking at a display near where the individual happened to be standing. The client is told she provoked the unwanted attention.

The idea is, that by taking responsibility, the client can feel in control of her life's events rather than feeling victimized. This approach is believed to be empowering by the therapists advocating this.Instead, this belief of being able to control all circumstances in life, including random ones, can engender a false sense of safety. Some therapists try to teach clients how to "strengthen their aura" as a way to protect themselves from predatory individuals, criminals and other risk factors. Magical thinking as therapy and safety training!

In the absence of any action on the part of the client that the therapist could (mis-)construe as provocative, the therapist may state that the client must have been "showing vulnerability" as she walked past some anonymous man in a crowd, who according to the the therapist, picked up on a vulnerability vibe. Or somehow oozed vulnerability when she placed an order at a deli or bakery, thereby attracting the attention of the clerk that later turned inappropriate. Never mind that the client may have been practicing good boundaries at the time, deliberately being matter-of-fact and businesslike after observing the clerk's manner with other customers as being a little too personal or flirtatious.

This practice of placing responsibility on the client may begin with the first session, when the client seeks treatment for PTSD as a result of her experience. In other words, the client may be in a state of distress or even shock, needing urgent relief from symptoms, but is told even before treatment is discussed, that she somehow brought her predicament upon herself.

I don't know how this trend got started in the psychotherapy community. If you look up "radical acceptance", the term refers to something else entirely. The "theory" being promulgated among trendy therapists, and New-Agey practitioners has nothing to do with what bona fide "radical acceptance" actually is.


For this reason, after discussing this issue with some PhD-level psychotherapists and psychologists, I recommend only seeking help from practitioners with doctorates in their field. I'm told they learn in their studies at that level, the history of psychotherapy's evolution, which includes a survey of ersatz practices, and training in how to recognize non-legitimate methods. It's for this reason that many health insurance companies only cover therapists with PhD's. That requirement weeds out most untrustworthy professionals.

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