Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Harmful Therapists: Recognizing the Warning Signs - Steve Eichel
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Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
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Abstract: As with any medically-related intervention, psychotherapy can have harmful "side effects." General research on psychotherapy offers incomplete guidance on what constitutes iatrogenic (harmful) psychotherapy. While the field of cultic studies has addressed psychotherapy cults, there is little, if anything, written about cultic psychotherapists. That is, psychotherapists who engage some, but not usually all, patients in cultic relationships (typically characterized by encouraging over-reliance and dependency on the therapist) likely outnumber therapists who become actual cult leaders. In this presentation, we will discuss specific behaviors and dynamics that may serve as warning signs of iatrogenic or even cultic psychotherapy.
Harmful Therapists: Recognizing the Warning Signs - Steve Eichel
-
Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
-
Abstract: As with any medically-related intervention, psychotherapy can have harmful "side effects." General research on psychotherapy offers incomplete guidance on what constitutes iatrogenic (harmful) psychotherapy. While the field of cultic studies has addressed psychotherapy cults, there is little, if anything, written about cultic psychotherapists. That is, psychotherapists who engage some, but not usually all, patients in cultic relationships (typically characterized by encouraging over-reliance and dependency on the therapist) likely outnumber therapists who become actual cult leaders. In this presentation, we will discuss specific behaviors and dynamics that may serve as warning signs of iatrogenic or even cultic psychotherapy.
