I should mention there is an argument that many mental health interventions are in fact harmful, mainly via a priming mechanism where when people start to consciously preoccupy themselves with their own mental health, that itself causes psychological suffering. It is a sort of Buddhist argument, I guess.
Abigail Shrier’s Bad Therapy (2024) has probably most discussed version of that case, though I have not read the book, and I am extremely epistemically uncertain about all this, in a way that makes me reluctant to either support or oppose interventions in this area.
Interesting take @alesziegler ! I do believe it is true that too much of any one thing is usually bad, and also believe that people who are not trained/ underqualified taking on mental health is counterproductive. I think people take on these roles or use clinical language that should not be applied to what they are doing precisely because they cannot get the credible help they need and are trying to fill that void. Mental health is extremely subjective and therefore interventions may look like community connection or involvement in sports rather than clinical therapy.
I am also highly skeptical of the legitimacy of Schrier’s claims and her choice in very carefully selected stastistics as evidence. For ecample, contrary to some of Shier’s claims, evidence-based school-based emotional programs have had profound impact, especially on marginalized populations (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773233924000032). Maybe my thoughts on this is best summed up by saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”?
I should mention there is an argument that many mental health interventions are in fact harmful, mainly via a priming mechanism where when people start to consciously preoccupy themselves with their own mental health, that itself causes psychological suffering. It is a sort of Buddhist argument, I guess.
Abigail Shrier’s Bad Therapy (2024) has probably most discussed version of that case, though I have not read the book, and I am extremely epistemically uncertain about all this, in a way that makes me reluctant to either support or oppose interventions in this area.
Interesting take @alesziegler ! I do believe it is true that too much of any one thing is usually bad, and also believe that people who are not trained/ underqualified taking on mental health is counterproductive. I think people take on these roles or use clinical language that should not be applied to what they are doing precisely because they cannot get the credible help they need and are trying to fill that void. Mental health is extremely subjective and therefore interventions may look like community connection or involvement in sports rather than clinical therapy.
I am also highly skeptical of the legitimacy of Schrier’s claims and her choice in very carefully selected stastistics as evidence. For ecample, contrary to some of Shier’s claims, evidence-based school-based emotional programs have had profound impact, especially on marginalized populations (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773233924000032). Maybe my thoughts on this is best summed up by saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”?