Kay Hymowitz reviews Abigail Shrier’s new book, Bad Therapy: Why Kids Aren’t Growing Up
When Every Day is a Mental Health Day
“Abigail Shrier’s first book, 2020’s Irreversible Damage*, launched the mother of all cancel campaigns. Because the book attributed the sudden and inexplicable rise in juvenile gender anxiety to social contagion rather than the activist-approved explanation of social progress, Shrier, an occasional contributor to City Journal, was branded a “transphobe.” Amazon employees demanded the company remove the book from its virtual shelves. Unlike the suits at Target, who briefly did exactly that, Amazon stopped short of cancelling the book and settled for banning any paid advertising. Despite growing questions about juvenile transgender treatment, including among practitioners, many libraries continue to treat Irreversible Damage as radioactive. Only last month, a Japanese publisher reneged on plans to publish the book, proving that, whether or not transgenderism is contagious, the urge to cancel those out of line with approved ideas unquestionably is.
Shrier’s new book Bad Therapy, an astute and impassioned analysis of the mental-health crisis now afflicting adolescents, may cause a similar emotional meltdown in some corners of American culture. Shrier’s target is more expansive than it was in Irreversible Damage; she aims her fire at the therapeutic mindset that pervades not just the offices of psychologists and counsellors, but elementary, middle, and high school classrooms, best-seller lists, middle-class homes, and government agencies.“
“Part of the problem is that mental-health professionals often seem oblivious to children’s impressionability, failing to notice how easy it is to implant negative thoughts and feelings kids might not otherwise have had. Shrier tells how she took her ten-year-old son to a clinic for help with a stubborn stomachache. During the visit, a nurse used a survey to interview the boy with questions like: “1. In the past few weeks, have you wished you were dead? 2. In the past few weeks, have you felt that you or your family would be better off if you were dead? 3. In the past week, have you been having thoughts about killing yourself? If yes, please describe.” Keep in mind a few facts of the case: this was an appointment for a stomachache. The child was only ten years old. The health-care worker had no indication of any mental distress. With the best of intentions, an adult was implying that thoughts of suicide are something children typically have to a child who was in all likelihood largely spending his time obsessing over baseball statistics and Minecraft. That the nurse asked Shrier to leave the room before beginning the interview—because supposedly children are more forthcoming about their inner life with a complete stranger with a clipboard than their parents—only adds to the incoherence of the activity.“
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