The pop psychology book, “Games People Play” was published in 1964. I remember reading it as a teenager in the 70’s. It described common relational patterns among people, like the “Yes, But” game, in which a person complains, another offers a solution, and the first person shoots down the idea. I decided a “Games Therapists Play” list could be wickedly funny while still making a serious point. Here you go:
“Pathologize the Patient”
Whatever happens gets translated into evidence that something is wrong with you.
“The Treatment Is Working Because You’re Still in Treatment”
When symptoms persist, the persistence itself becomes evidence that you need more treatment.
“The Treatment Didn’t Work Because You Didn’t Do It Right”
If the intervention fails, responsibility quietly moves from the intervention to the patient.
“You Need to Be More Motivated”
Your lack of improvement is interpreted as insufficient motivation rather than information about the treatment.
“You Are Resistant”
You disagree with the clinician, and your disagreement becomes evidence of resistance.
“Lack of Insight”
You understand what is happening differently from the clinician, therefore you lack insight.
“Poor Boundaries”
You object to something inappropriate in the therapeutic relationship, and your objection becomes the clinical problem.
“That’s Transference”
Something about the therapist’s behavior bothers you, but instead of examining the behavior, it is interpreted as something you are transferring onto them.
“Treatment Plan Roulette”
A document is created describing measurable goals that bear little resemblance to your life.
“One-Hour-a-Week”
You are expected to make meaningful changes while receiving approximately one hour of professional attention per week, and the rest of your life is somehow expected to accommodate the treatment model.
“It’s Your Coping Skills”
A structural or environmental problem is handed back to you as a coping-skills deficit.
“Safety Plan”
A complicated human situation gets reduced to a standardized form that protects the institution more effectively than it supports the person.
“The Diagnosis Explains Everything”
Once you have a diagnosis, every subsequent experience is interpreted through it.
“The Differential Diagnosis Disappears Game”
Once a psychiatric explanation is established, competing explanations receive progressively less attention.
“The Compliance Trap”
Agreement with the clinician is interpreted as progress. Disagreement is interpreted as pathology.
“You Are Noncompliant”
You decline an intervention that doesn’t work for you, and the refusal becomes part of your diagnosis.
“You Can’t Join the Therapeutic Alliance”
The therapist’s failure to establish a workable relationship is reframed as your inability to form one.
“I’m More Specialized and Qualified Than You”
Your lived knowledge of your own condition is treated as inferior to someone else’s professional knowledge because they have credentials.
“It’s Evidence-Based”
“Evidence-based” means whatever the institution has decided counts as evidence, while your response to the intervention is treated as no problem.
“That’s Your Illness Talking”
You criticize the system, and the criticism itself becomes evidence of illness.
“You’re Getting Better Because You Say You’re Getting Better”
Your agreement with the treatment narrative becomes a measure of improvement.
“You’re Getting Worse Because You Say You’re Getting Worse”
Your disagreement with the treatment narrative becomes evidence of deterioration.
“The Reframe”
You report something harmful, and the therapist finds a more comfortable interpretation of it.
“You’re So Resilient!”
The system gives you fewer resources and then celebrates your ability to survive the resulting conditions.
And my favorite:
“Heads I Win, Tails You Have a Disorder”
If you improve, the treatment worked. If you don’t improve, your disorder is severe. If you object, you lack insight. If you leave, you have poor treatment adherence. If you seek another opinion, you’re shopping for validation. If you stop treatment and improve, it is apparently because you finally learned the skills they taught you.
