Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
John's notes in summary:
1. It is important for us to continue to bring awareness to and more consistently and directly challenge these ideologies, as they continue to dominate and flourish in academia and the helping professions
2. We need to increasingly reject the narrative and refuse to accept the suggestion or insistence that one side is unquestionably correct and that anyone who disagrees is not only wrong but a violent oppressor
3. That psychotherapy is not something that everyone needs, especially if training programs and professional organizations are going to continue to insist on radical ideologies. We need to stop seeing therapists as paragons of wisdom and virtue and be more open to the benefits of alternative helping services, such as secular or spiritual life coaching and other alternatives to traditional psychotherapy
John Paulson is an Associate Professor of Social Work at a regional midwestern university and has taught for the past 10 years in both the undergraduate and graduate social work programs. John began teaching as an adjunct at a community college in 2004 and transitioned to teaching full time at that college in 2011 and did so for 4 years before accepting his current position. His twenty plus years of experience teaching in higher education has led to growing concerns about how we are educating and training helping professionals in the domains of social work, counseling, psychology and allied disciplines. In addition to his academic background, John is a clinical social worker who has provided a variety of psychotherapeutic services for individuals with psychiatric and substance use difficulties in multiple behavioral health and social service settings. His areas of research and scholarship include mental health and addiction services, mindfulness and compassion-based interventions, dynamics impacting professionalism, gatekeeping, and clinical supervision for student trainees and early career clinicians, advocating for individuals in personal long-term recovery with histories of legal convictions entering training programs and obtaining employment and licensure in the helping professions, issues of spirituality in social work practice, and the microsociology of violence and the potential impact of martial arts study for deescalating and preventing conflict.
In this interview John discusses his personal and professional perspectives and concerns on these issues. His views are his own and do not represent those of his department, institution, or any professional organization with which he is affiliated.
_____________________________________________________________________
If you would like to contact me, my website is: theradicalcenterconsulting.com
I am also on X @JLeslieElliott
And if you appreciate this ongoing project and would like to support my continued work in this area you can chip in at any of the following (thank you very much!):
paypal.me/jleslieelliott
buymeacoffee.com/radicalcenter
patreon.com/theradicalcenter
Another great way to support my work (and get something nice for yourself!) is to shop my handmade ceramics online at: ceramics.wherethealdersgrow.com
Join us every Monday at 10:00am Pacific/1:00pm Eastern for the Solid Ground Live stream. Come join our Solid Ground peer support and discussion groups at sground.substack.com And you can join our locals community at solidground.locals.com
Additional resources and affiliates:
Critical Therapy Antidote: criticaltherapyantidote.org
Christine Sefein Wolk: cohost of the CTA podcast: youtube.com/@ctapodcast
John's notes in summary:
1. It is important for us to continue to bring awareness to and more consistently and directly challenge these ideologies, as they continue to dominate and flourish in academia and the helping professions
2. We need to increasingly reject the narrative and refuse to accept the suggestion or insistence that one side is unquestionably correct and that anyone who disagrees is not only wrong but a violent oppressor
3. That psychotherapy is not something that everyone needs, especially if training programs and professional organizations are going to continue to insist on radical ideologies. We need to stop seeing therapists as paragons of wisdom and virtue and be more open to the benefits of alternative helping services, such as secular or spiritual life coaching and other alternatives to traditional psychotherapy
John Paulson is an Associate Professor of Social Work at a regional midwestern university and has taught for the past 10 years in both the undergraduate and graduate social work programs. John began teaching as an adjunct at a community college in 2004 and transitioned to teaching full time at that college in 2011 and did so for 4 years before accepting his current position. His twenty plus years of experience teaching in higher education has led to growing concerns about how we are educating and training helping professionals in the domains of social work, counseling, psychology and allied disciplines. In addition to his academic background, John is a clinical social worker who has provided a variety of psychotherapeutic services for individuals with psychiatric and substance use difficulties in multiple behavioral health and social service settings. His areas of research and scholarship include mental health and addiction services, mindfulness and compassion-based interventions, dynamics impacting professionalism, gatekeeping, and clinical supervision for student trainees and early career clinicians, advocating for individuals in personal long-term recovery with histories of legal convictions entering training programs and obtaining employment and licensure in the helping professions, issues of spirituality in social work practice, and the microsociology of violence and the potential impact of martial arts study for deescalating and preventing conflict.
In this interview John discusses his personal and professional perspectives and concerns on these issues. His views are his own and do not represent those of his department, institution, or any professional organization with which he is affiliated.
_____________________________________________________________________
If you would like to contact me, my website is: theradicalcenterconsulting.com
I am also on X @JLeslieElliott
And if you appreciate this ongoing project and would like to support my continued work in this area you can chip in at any of the following (thank you very much!):
paypal.me/jleslieelliott
buymeacoffee.com/radicalcenter
patreon.com/theradicalcenter
Another great way to support my work (and get something nice for yourself!) is to shop my handmade ceramics online at: ceramics.wherethealdersgrow.com
Join us every Monday at 10:00am Pacific/1:00pm Eastern for the Solid Ground Live stream. Come join our Solid Ground peer support and discussion groups at sground.substack.com And you can join our locals community at solidground.locals.com
Additional resources and affiliates:
Critical Therapy Antidote: criticaltherapyantidote.org
Christine Sefein Wolk: cohost of the CTA podcast: youtube.com/@ctapodcast
