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.
Hosts Rachel and Ash dissect the career and controversial evolution of Phil McGraw, exploring his transition from daytime TV guru to pro-ICE content creator.
27 May 2026TRANSCRIPT
Wilhelm Reich
Hosts Ash and Rachel interview each other about Wilhelm Reich's controversial career and ideas, offering insights into his complex legacy.
13 May 2026TRANSCRIPT
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Hosts Rachel and Ash explore neuro-linguistic programming, examining its effectiveness and potential dangers in this interview episode.
29 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Hosts Rachel and Ash interview Elisabeth Kübler-Ross about her groundbreaking work on the five stages of death and grief, uncovering surprising controversies.
15 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT
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/ (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.
8 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT
Season 2 Trailer
Season 2 of Bad Therapist starts April 14th.
26 Feb 2025
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.
19 Feb 2025
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.
12 Feb 2025
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.
22 Jan 2025
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/ (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.
8 Jan 2025
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.
1 Jan 2025
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.
11 Dec 2024
Conversion Therapy
Rachel & Ash discuss conversion therapy's harm with John Monroe, a survivor, and examine the pseudoscientific attempts to change queerness through psychology.
4 Dec 2024
The Unexpected Origins of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Bad Therapist hosts Ash and Rachel delve into the bizarre origins of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, revealing a journey of erotic fanfiction, family dynamics, and psychological insights that upend our understanding of personality.
27 Nov 2024
The Life Coach School
Rachel Hollis and Ash discuss the unregulated life coaching industry, exposing the glossy and expensive programs with MLM-esque overtones.
21 Nov 2024
The Shadow Side of Shadow Work
Ash & Rachel explore the sudden TikTok trend of #shadowwork, diving into its psychological roots with Keila Shaheen's insights on integrating and transcending one's shadows.
21 Nov 2024
The Sullivanians - A Therapeutic Commune Gone Wrong
Bad Therapist hosts Rachel & Ash delve into the dark side of the Sullivanians, a self-credentialed therapist collective that turned a utopian dream into a sinister reality.
18 Nov 2024
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.
16 Nov 2024
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.
Inside a recent episode
Dr. Phil
Published 10 Jun 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Like he was a bad student. He had nobody in their family and either of his parents' families had gone to college. His dad like was in World War II or went to college on the GI Bill. And like, this was kind of scandalous at the time, like, like uppity kind of. So I don't, it's never explained in anything that I could find like why his dad all of a sudden decides to be a psychologist, but his dad gets his PhD by this time. Like Phil is also a grownup. Um, and his dad is really into the idea of like, we should have a father son therapy practice. I feel like this is, um, It's interesting because it's all North Texas and his dad will – both his dad and Phil will like fly little planes to get to like appointments because they're – you know, it's like Midland to Abilene to Wichita Falls and there's like – So they're both practicing at the same time. […]
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