Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up

ADHD refers to a condition marked by overstimulation and distractibility, and it afflicts over 15 percent of boys in the US. Shrier argues that ADHD does not meet the criteria for a psychological disorder, and medications for its treatment have negative side effects and do not cure the condition. She cites this as an example of over-diagnosis and treatment and recommends that parents find other ways to deal with energetic and disorganized children.

Shrier provides examples of varying degrees of adversity, such as poverty, longing for home among immigrants, or simply getting picked up late by a parent. Adversity implies difficulties and misfortunes but does not rise to the level of trauma or dysfunction on a clinical level. Shrier alleges that educators conflate minor adversities with trauma and treat all children as in need of psychological help.

Confounding variables are “exogenous reasons for whatever purported correlations are observed” (124). In other words, they are alternative explanations for why two variables increase or decrease together. Shrier accuses van der Kolk’s study of failing to account for such variables and therefore reaching a problematic conclusion about the effect of childhood trauma on adults.

A disorder is defined as a psychological condition that “interferes with the ability to lead a normal life” (198). Using this definition, Shrier denies that ADHD is a real disorder, and she insinuates that other psychological diagnoses are similarly faulty.

A dual relationship exists when a therapist treats anyone in a client’s “orbit,” such as a client’s friend. Therapists who allow for such relationships are in violation of ethical rules. However, school counselors have such dual relationships with students, as they treat their friends and teammates. Shrier highlights this ethical problem to criticize the expanding role of school counselors.

Explicit learning refers to learning that is intentional, “rules-based, requires conscious effort to master, and it typically fades if it is not routinely engaged or tested” (84). Meanwhile, implicit learning is done through doing or action. Shrier maintains that social-emotional curriculums attempt to teach implicit learning, such as how to form a friendship, which is impossible.

Hypochondriasis is an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety about health and physical symptoms. This is treated by getting patients to shift their focus away from themselves. Shrier argues that therapy does the opposite and encourages people to focus on feelings, which “amplifies emotional dysregulation” (65) and helplessness.

From the Greek, iatrogenesis “means ‘originating with the healer’ and refers to the phenomenon of a healer harming a patient in the course of treatment” (7). Shrier argues that therapy and mental health awareness carry such harmful side effects. In her view, the negative effects outweigh any potential benefits for most people. 

Information bias refers to the inclusion of incorrect recollections of participants in a study. Shrier argues that van der Kolk’s study of the impact of childhood trauma on adults suffered from this bias because adults who suffer from a psychological problem are more likely to remember a childhood trauma and identify it as the cause, even if not true.

Those with an internal locus of control have agency or believe they can improve their circumstances, while those with an external locus of control attribute events to things outside of their control. Shrier argues that the members of Generation Z have an external locus of control, making them pessimistic and unable to believe they can improve their circumstances. She attributes this to the hyperattention to feelings and lack of independence granted to this generation in childhood.

Restorative justice is, per Shrier:

[…] the official name for schools’ therapeutic approach that reimagines all bad behavior as a cry for help. Its central practice is the restorative circle […] in which a teacher directs students in conflict to sit in a circle of their peers and take turns sharing their pain (94).

Shrier argues that this system, which replaced punishments such as suspensions, not only does not work but harms victims of violence who must sit with perpetrators and apologize to them. She claims that it excuses physical violence for the sake of emotional health.

Selection bias refers to the over-inclusion of one type of subject in a study. Shrier accuses van der Kolk’s study of this bias because it had too many adults with psychological disorders.

Shadows are people hired privately or supplied by public schools to monitor one child. In the past, shadows were used only for children with autism or severe learning disabilities, but they are more prevalent in the 2010s and 2020s. Shrier argues that their presence is another example of excessive monitoring of children and causes children to be dependent and stressed.

Shrier claims that social-emotional learning “pushes kids toward a series of personal reflections, aimed at teaching them ‘self-awareness,’ ‘social awareness.’ ‘relationship skills,’ ‘self-management,’ and ‘responsible decision-making’” (77). Shrier is highly critical of this curriculum, arguing that these skills are learned implicitly and cannot be taught. More importantly, she maintains that such lessons violate the privacy of students, undermine parent-child relationships, and reduce students’ chances for academic success.