“The goal of radical transformation in your clients” is a selling point for some training for therapists. The idea might not be as brilliant as it seems on the surface.

Any therapist’s agenda can actually thwart the client’s process, as described in this video of Dr Laurence Heller, co-developer of the Neuroaffective Relational Model (NARM) therapy. Created specifically for survivors of Complex PTSD, NARM is cutting edge, neuroscience-based, somatically oriented, and inherently non-shaming and non-coercive. It’s the kind of therapy everyone deserves.

As a survivor of severe Developmental Trauma compounded by recent medical and psychiatric abuse (8 days in the cuckoo’s nest without medical necessity, for an iatrogenic condition), too many times I’ve found myself in session with a therapist who had no idea how to help me. Instead, they furthered their agenda.

This not only thwarted my process, but it also caused additional harm. We do not need additional harm from the people we turn to for help! This is a huge betrayal. And, when we try to complain about a harmful or even predatory therapist, what a joke! The power structure protects their career at the expense of the individual’s and community’s mental health.

We can’t wait for psychology to swoop in and save us. We don’t need to be manipulated according to somebody else’s pathologizing agenda and a patriarchal domination system. We need Interpersonal Neurobiology-informed care, which fosters our own process and well-being and de-stigmatizes what are called mental health issues, which are health issues.