Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up

As the author, Shrier presents scathing criticisms of modern psychotherapeutic methods and the normalization of mental health awareness. To support her critiques, she cites studies and relies upon interviews with academic psychologists and anecdotes. Shrier does not review the academic literature in either of these areas, as her objective is to support one side. While some of her concerns are not controversial, such as children not gaining enough independence, she places the blame on mental health professionals, school administrators and teachers, and parents. She chastises parents from Generation X for heeding the advice of therapists and relying on a gentle parenting style, which does not work, in her view. Seeking to give priority to The Role of Parents in Childrearing, she calls upon parents to adopt an authoritative style with their children and to instill values in them. She stipulates that she is not focused on those individuals who truly need psychological help, but rather the larger group of individuals who seek help for what she considers normal or minor problems. With that stipulation, her condemnations of therapists and social-emotional learning are generalized and broad in scope, as she claims that most mental health professionals should be fired.