Summarised by Centrist
The backlash against therapy culture is growing.
Therapy culture “encourages a person to revel in the status of victimhood; to see their mental health problems as a core part of their identity rather than challenges to overcome; and to hold the people around them (and the world more generally) responsible for meeting their needs and keeping them safe,”according to Madeleine Holden, Senior Editor at The Spinoff.
But as therapy culture fades, Holden’s message is don’t let this backlash stop you from doing actual therapy.
She writes that while therapy is a private, transformative process that fosters personal responsibility and growth, therapy culture is often superficial, playing out in social media soundbites and lacking depth and nuance.
According to Holden: “Therapy culture breeds snowflakes and cry bullies, and its preferred parlance is like an email from HR: saccharine and earnest, but also vaguely threatening.”
Holden argues that while therapy culture may be on the decline, the importance of therapy remains. “Don’t confuse therapy (good) with therapy culture (good riddance). Don’t throw the boundaries out with the bathwater,” she advises.
