Critics argue that contemporary psychotherapy does more harm than good.

The effectiveness of therapy is debated, with claims of both overuse and significant benefit.

Psychotherapy’s impact—helpful or harmful—often depends on one's perspective and its application.

This is the first post in a series.

In recent years, there have been a number of books published that are highly critical of how psychotherapy is being practiced today, and, in some cases, directly blame our current cultural stresses on such therapy itself. For instance, consider the recently released Therapy Nation: How America Got Hooked on Therapy and Why It's Left Us More Anxious and Divided by therapist Jonathan Alpert (2026, Hanover Square Press), in which he generally argues that "too much therapy, or the wrong kind, can have painful effects on individuals, families, communities and our nation."

Alpert views Americans today as being "overtherapized" and accuses so-called "therapy culture" of contributing to the "anxieties dividing America today." Fascinatingly, he personally adheres to and sings the praises of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), despite the fact that CBT has for decades been and continues to be the predominant therapeutic approach in this country, refusing to recognize that this is a significant part of the problem with what he calls "bad" therapy today.

Another scathing critique of 21st-century psychotherapy titled One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture Is Eroding Self-Reliance (2005, St. Martin's Press) was written by non-clinician and social critic Christina Hoff Sommers........

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