Article: Psychotherapy as a Cult

Warning, I'm a theology grad student so this might be long-winded. in a religious context, "messiah" means something akin to "anointed one" or specifically someone marked by God to liberate/deliver his people. For Christians this is obviously Jesus, and in Judaism this is a prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled. Both religions, but especially Judaism, see the Messiah as coming during a time of great strife and suffering (which is why it's prevalent in the laments of the Prophetic literature, which were written in desperate times and cry for HOPE and HELP in the face of diaspora, destruction, and loss of identity). You can even see this in the Christian birth narrative that speaks of the birth of Jesus as hope in the face of a colonized and powerless people. Happy people don't actively seek out a messiah.

The messianic concept is built out of a deep need that feels beyond the scope of normal ability to cope, and I know that, at least for me, this does mirror a lot of how I felt when I went into therapy -- I was vehemently anti-therapy at the time but my desperation had reached a level where I felt powerless, in pain, and terrified. In fact, a lot of the time I have trouble keeping myself safe, and that can create a level of desperation that can leave me vulnerable and feeling like I need outside intervention to keep me out of danger.

I don't think the concept of the therapist as messiah, even in the scriptural sense of the word is THAT FAR OFF, especially when you realize that these words are being taken in a 21st Century context and not in the context of the 6-7th century BCE. We don't live in an era now where we believe as strongly in religious mystery or magical thinking, but I do think that a lot of times we place a similar desperate faith in things that bring us comfort like therapy. This isn't inherently bad or wrong or cult-like, but in the wrong dynamic, it CAN BE. I admit that my desperate sadness and fear made me susceptible and I think it's that in combination with my therapist's need to see HERSELF as savior as well that led to a really bad situation.

I think this is making a leap that wasn't inferred. It's closer to saying that every religion is a cult because some religions are cults. I also don't find the comparison to other professions completely relevant: how many posts do you read here where the therapist keeps encouraging the client to trust them more and more and more? I do believe that anything past a normal progression of trust is unhealthy and can be dangerous. You also do noy sit with your accountant week after week, air your darkest secrets, and ask for help dealing with them. Even if the therapist is a paid professional, the dynamic HAS THE OPPORTUNITY to be very different from the relationship with your lawyer or accountant. Add to this the fact that a lot of people who go into therapy are already struggling and alone, they want someone to help them. In something like accounting, the expectations are very well laid out for each job, as well as the ethical requirements of the order. Therapy is not so black-and-white, and it's harder to prove therapeutic malpractice in these grey areas.

I am planning on going into ministry after graduate school, and I am a weekly church-goer. This always makes me think of my relationship with my own minister because I think it also has the same opportunity to be unhealthy that therapy does. Maybe even more, because there is already the religious aspect. I am the same person, I lay my insecurities and fears and desperation in front of her too, but that relationship never became unhealthy like my relationship with my ex-T did. Is it because I think therapy is more cult-like than church? Absolutely not, but I also think my minister is not trying to put HERSELF in that role of messiah like my ex-T. This is even more apparent because my relationship with my minister (and this type of relationship in general) doesn't have anywhere near as many "boundaries" as therapy does. It's more about professional integrity and ethics than anything else, but I do think this type of relationship does have the opportunity to place the "helper" in the role of messiah. Laying your fears on someone else and asking for support and help can be scary and risky if the therapist doesn't remember to put the client's safety above their own emotional needs. In my case, I adored my ex-T enough that if she had offered me a glass of Kool-Aid I would have guzzled it.

Excellent points , I wonder if there is a somewhat ' cultish ' aspect from some practitioners who go as far as to admonish other practitioners for not practising in the way they do. I have seen it happen myself.

To me, the common problem held both by any cultic entities and by most psychotherapy is the unfortunate mixing of money with assumed altruism. As long as psychotherapists are looked upon as people with inherently better intentions than average human beings, the chances for abuse go up in direct proportion.

I don't see any reason to look upon psychotherapists or their industry as any less needful of critique than any others. No reason to blanketly trust a new therapist any more than I would a new auto mechanic, because my presence in their lives represents the very same thing, chunks of income, and they are certainly each as prone to bad judgment, selfishness, or whatever other garden variety human traits each happens to possess.

I've found nothing to be quite so harmful to me in my therapy experiences as trusting psychotherapists without simultaneously achieving deeply commensurate accountability on their part, so those in the industry that advocate for such things are certainly suspect in my eyes. Enable their god complex, guru mentality, and you are almost sure to get it. In my experience and opinion, which is should perhaps be noted are not criticisms of the industry itself but of specific practices and cultural developments which surely hold room for improvement.

I don't know, I would tend to think it'd be a good thing for a therapist to think s/he can help. I mean, yeah, I'd be creeped out by any T who told me, in that motivational speaker cadence, "I will change your life!"

But that's sort of the idea, right? There's a new poll floating around here that suggests a lot of people go to therapy to change their lives. And if you read those advertising snippets in a calm, measured, therapist-y voice instead of a TV personality voice, it sounds sort of encouraging: "Well, the hope is that therapy can help you achieve a happier and healthier life."

It's all in tone, I guess.

I think found it a liability when a provider has manic certainty and belief in his own unrealistic powers or believes his own publicity. Treatment can then become about the therapist's vanity, and pressuring the client to collude and placate. This happened in my treatment. ***Disclaimer: I'm describing my treatment, not anyone else's, or the universe.

A couple of those examples I posted are too generic and not that meaningful. I was too lazy to find better ones. But some of them do creep me out. I also took them out of context, and when seen with the rest of the marketing language and the sort of imagery (meadows, waterfalls) that misbella alluded to, I find it a little troubling. But yea, tone and context make a big difference.

Here's a couple of other therapist website blurbs I found randomly:

"integrate the many parts of our brains and ourselves. This is a collaborative process that heals old wounds."

"I help people resolve the emotional and relationship problems caused by painful past events."

"cultivate a deep sense of personal integrity."

"find your innermost truths"

"a more emotionally satisfying life."

To have these sorts of intentions, seems fairly reasonable. But to offer them in the form of claims… seems rather nutty (and yes a bit cult-y). Can these T's back these claims up with some sort of empirical data or success stories showing that they have indeed facilitated, with some regularity, something as profound as healing old wounds, reintegrating fractured parts of the self, resolving emotional problems, or finding innermost truths?

I have seen 7 different T's (for a month or more) and 6-7 for just a couple sessions. Never had the sense that the above sorts of transformations could take place with any of them. Mostly it was a lot of purposeless talking, or in one case an incredibly destructive bloodbath.

"bloodbath"? Geez, what I wouldn't give to have been a fly on that wall.

And fair enough point about the marketing. I actually looked at some websites for private-practice T's in my area (never done that before) and, yeah, Koi ponds and Reiki healing and promises of a better life abound. I can't imagine a T actually making those sorts of promises in person.

Well, maybe I can, judging from some of those air-brushed portraits. Haha

A more honest advert might be: "Im gonna try to pull your head out of your butt. But its gonna hurt you a lot more than its gonna hurt me."

If one didn't want something in their lives to change, then why go at all?

If the therapist believes in her sorcery powers, I think that might be a problem.
Especially if koi are involved.

"Especially given my hourly rate and also the fact that I have the only comfortable seat in the office."

I have seen websites like this and could not take these people seriously. I think they are humorous but also disturbing in that they think it's very serious and valid language to use. I would not use view such therapists as good representatives of the profession, although there seem to be an awful lot that are like this.

Hmmm, but isn't that precisely the creepy and dangerous assumption that we are discussing here -- client as defective, therapist as fixer?

To me the more honest statement would be: "My head is up my own butt, perhaps yours is too, let's talk about that."

Oh yes. For sure. That gets at the core of my harmful therapy. Trust and vulnerability were expected of me. The process demanded it. Accountability and honesty on the part of the T were at her discretion, and ultimately she chose to opt out.

do you think other people have no skills? Or no skills better than you? Read vonnegut's short story "harrison bergeron" for where that world view leads you. I have skills to offer other people. Is it just psychotherapy that you feel is an unverifiable skill? I probably would not answer an ad by someone whose greatest claim to fame is their ability to do their own colonoscopy without any instruments.

I did not go see a therapist because I thought any part of my anatomy was in any other part incorrectly. I did not and still do not believe that is the case. I don't think it is the case with most clients. In general, I don't want the therapist trying to pull anything out of me. I don't see that as their job. And I would not go to or trust a therapist to be able to pull anything out of any part of me even if I did believe such was the case and needed to be rectified.

I dont need the Vonnegut story. I've seen in real life what happens when i assume someone is competent just because they hold a particular position. If you're m.o. is to go in assuming you are broken, the T is not, and the T will fix you, more power to ya, but that's a club i won't be joining.

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Its kind of hard to have a conversation with you. Good luck with all that.

Rectify might not be the best word to use there, given unaluna's example...

The most fundamental and damaging lie in my therapy, and a--for me-a diminishing construct to take into other aspects of my life. I believe this describes a --cult like--relationship which my therapists enthusiastically fed.

Here's the thing: When you said the thing about therapists needing to pull the client's head out of their butt, as a sort of default scenario, I felt I was included in that. Bit of an insult really. So i merely countered with a different point of view, namely that maybe clients and therapists are both flawed. And yet you are upset with me. Hmmm.

I bring this up because I think this exchange is somewhat emblematic of this whole thread, and some aspects of therapy in general.

To put it bluntly -- it seems to be ok to disparage clients, particularly those who say anything critical of therapy, but it is not ok to be critical of therapists, or evidently to even suggest equivalence or parity between client and therapist.

Not trying to make trouble. This is serious to me. Maybe I am reading things wrong or just going overboard. Would like to hear what people think, particularly those who clicked "thanks" to the head-out-of-butt post.

Thank you. I get sick of the whole "client is defective, therapist is the fixer" mentality. There are some really horrible therapists out there and how is that the client's fault? We're supposed to know this going in? Some people seem so smug about how they would never fall into the trap of a bad therapist.

I found the comment about "head in butt" to be really hurtful and offensive. I went to therapy due to grief over loss of a child. That comment was very, very hurtful to me.

I didn't click "thanks" on unluna's post, but I did want to respond. I also wanted to add that I personally think that the "thanks" button can be a dividing force in discussions on the forum. I'm always very torn about clicking it. I often want to indicate my agreement with what someone says, but I'm also cognizant of the fact that it will be taken as me "lining" up on the opposite side of a discussion. I've seen it happen on posts on both sides of any argument. Difficult decision!

When I read the mentioned post, I have to admit that I smiled, smiled because the image was amusing and familiar and I did agree that the image resonated with me personally. I often feel when dealing with my emotional health that I can't get out of my own way. I can't see things clearly because I'm so wrapped up in the crazy upheaval of emotions that roll through my head that I can't think straight. I go to my therapist to talk things through--example: I recently had a falling out with a friend who stepped all over a very important boundary of mine. I had told her numerous time what my boundary was and why I had it. She knew but she still stampeded over it. I was sooooo angry that I'm pretty sure I would have made a rash, perhaps hurtful, response to her behavior. I went to therapy and talked it through.

The thing is, I don't in any way put my therapist on a pedestal or believe that she has all the answers. I know she doesn't, she knows she doesn't--she's told me that more than a few times and we laugh when she gets it wrong. Perhaps that proves for me that my therapist is able to do what you said might be helpful: "Hey, you're flawed and so am I. Let's talk a bit and see what happens." What my therapist can do is not be emotional about my emotional stuff. I come in hot and bothered and she sits and listens with cool, unflappable calm. She asks me questions, points out things I might have missed and then she lets me make my decision of how to handle things. If I get stuck on that decision, she might make a suggestion, but it's never something she shoves down my throat as a dictate of how I should respond or behave. She never acts as though she is a God or supreme Guru on high that must be obeyed. If she did, I'd be out the door in two seconds flat . . . in fact, I've test driven a few therapists like that and I've gotten out of there quick!

I do agree with you that some therapist take pride and enjoyment in putting the client in the "down" position; they identify the "poor" client as the one who needs help, guidance and supervision to correct their pathology and in their eyes, ALL clients are their pathology. They might not admit that but they project that demeanor and they speak that language. But I'm pretty good at identifying those kinds of professionals and getting the heck out of Dodge when I come across one-and believe me, those individuals are in every profession.

What makes me sad about the psychotherapy business is that there are many vulnerable people who are too hurt and confused because of what life has dealt them that they can't see what is being "done to them" by poorly trained therapists and psychiatrists, and I say done to them because that's how a "bad" therapist/psychiatrist functions. He/she attempts to step in and be the all knowing therapist/psychiatrist who will "cure" the client if the client will only follow their rules and guidelines and instructions. And if nothing happens or things go south, it's because the client is too flawed to have benefited from their wisdom. The client is then shown the door or in some cases, kicked to the curb in a demeaning and traumatizing manner. That's when therapy/psychiatry is a crock of you know what. critical of therapists, or evidently to even suggest equivalence or parity between client and therapist.

I did want to also say, that I'm sorry if I come across as "smug" when I talk about not falling for "bad" therapists. I don't feel smug or above anyone else when it comes to this issue. I do know, however, that I have a very very sensitive radar when it comes to manipulative professionals. I don't trust easily or connect to people on a deep level. I'm constantly watchful for signs that things are smothering or all-consuming. That little radar of mine just vibrates like crazy when someone I'm going to for medical or mental health advice starts to weave a web of "Just do as I say and you'll be fine. Just trust me and all will be well."

That said, I freely admit that the opposite side of that coin is that my lack of trust and connection really screws up my ability to connect on a deep level with trustworthy people in a more everyday relationship level. So even though I have a super good ability to spot lousy service providers, I have a less than stellar ability to make meaningful and intimate connections in my personal life. That's pretty painful too. I just wanted you to know that when I talk about having the ability to walk away from harmful therapists that there's a down side to it too and my words are never intentionally meant to hurt anyone else.