Society & Culture

The Therapy Beat August 28, 2024

The Esther Perel Phenomenon

When Did Mental Health Become Entertainment?

Therapy is having a moment right now, with clinicians filling our social media feeds, bestseller lists, and concert halls. How did we get here? And where are... Read more

Open Book August 28, 2024

“Reservation Dogs” Redefines Time and Trauma

A Binge-Worthy Series About Indigenous Healing

The stories of four teenagers in the Muscogee Nation illustrates the power of community, myth, and spirituality in healing trauma. Read more

Is Existentialism the Approach of Our Time?

Awakening to Mortality and Responsibility in Therapy

A millennial therapist believes that for clients to find true freedom and meaning in the midst of crisis, we need to help them face inescapable questions about... Read more

Will Space Aliens Get Therapy?

A Cosmic Perspective on Home

Maybe it’s time for therapists and planetary scientists to hang out more. Read more

Guardians of the Aquifer

Moving from Despair to Advocacy

In the face of environmental anguish, a therapy icon turns to grassroots activism and finds hope, healing, and connection. Read more

In a recent meeting with several therapists, I shared my plans for upcoming magazine issues. When I talked about exploring new perspectives on coercive... Read more

The Therapy Beat June 28, 2024

The Cultural Competence Dilemma

How Much Can We Rely On a Shared Identity with Clients?

Black Men Heal’s therapy outcomes are defying the odds—and raising questions about what it means to be truly culturally competent. Read more

The Surrogacy Partnership

Navigating a Complicated, Intimate Arrangement

Building a trusting relationship with a surrogate requires a wide array of interpersonal and self-regulation skills— and can be the ultimate exercise in... Read more

The Parentification Trap

Growing Up Too Fast as a Child of Immigrants

How does it impact the development of second-generation kids when their sense of self is inextricably tied to meeting the needs of parents and elders? Read more

“She Looks Just Like You”

What Are We Not Seeing with Donor-Assisted IVF?

Understanding the impact of “resemblance talk” and the challenge of “parental claiming” can help the parents of donor-conceived children feel... Read more

The Therapy Beat May 1, 2024

The Client No One Wants to Treat

What Happens When We Shun Pedophiles in Our Practices

Advocates are calling on more therapists to consider how they can help people whose inclinations toward minors most of us find abhorrent. Read more

In the Weeds

The Costs of Believing the Cannabis Hype

The U.S. cannabis industry has created a market worth up to 35 billion dollars, in part by convincing the public that THC is medicinal and safe. Are the people... Read more

Point of View May 1, 2024

Prentis Hemphill: Personal Healing Meets Social Change

How Somatic Therapy Can Create a Just World

Prentis Hemphill believes justice begins with nurturing authentic, body-based feelings, so people can embody their values and spread them throughout families... Read more

Editor's Note: May/June 2024

The Search for Higher Ground

Welcome to the new world of psychedelic-assisted healing. It’s no longer a fringe therapy. It’s happening all around us. Read more

Editor's Note: March/April 2024

The Loneliness Epidemic

This issue aims to explore what we can do about loneliness in our therapy offices—not just for kids and young adults, but for people at any stage of life Read more

In Search of The Great Male Friend

One Man’s Quest for Intimacy

Grown men don’t say things like “I’ve got nobody to play with.” Or do they? A journalist explores what therapists are seeing across the country: the... Read more

Esther Perel on the Art of Making Friends

Skills for Cultivating Vibrant Connections

Navigating the potential discomfort of opening ourselves up to others is a skill we all have to learn through trial and error. Read more

Cultivating Relationships in Real Life

Seven Strategies for Guiding Lonely Young Adults

By asking the right questions in therapy, we can help make the road to adulthood less lonely for high school and college-age kids. Read more

Celebrating Black Sisterhood

The Power of Healing in Community

Forming strong connections with others is not only integral to our development as humans, it’s connected to our very survival. For Black women, this is... Read more

AI in Therapy

A Conversation with Matthias Barker

What happens when AI enters the therapy room? Therapist influencer Matthias Barker chats with Networker editor in chief Livia Kent. Read more

Hustle Culture, Malaise, and Mental Health

A Conversation with Erica Turner

Catch the replay of our discussion about why your clients may be struggling with disillusionment in their professional lives. Read more

Reclaiming Black Imagination

The PRIDE Approach to Healing

A new approach embraces the somatic wisdom and indigenous knowledge of BIPOC clients. Read more

If we do not examine and honor the root of the suffering, such as colonization and dehumanization, we will continue to experience the same suffering over and... Read more

The Therapy Beat September 1, 2023

The Return of the Enneagram

A Pop-Psych Gimmick or a Path to Self-Knowledge?

The Enneagram is an ancient self-help tool that seems to be experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Does it have a place in the therapy room? Read more

The Rise of Therapy-Speak

Matthias Barker on Bridging Social Media and the Therapy Room

Influencer and clinician Matthias Barker gives his take on what therapists can do when clinical buzzwords morph into flippant or incorrect notions that clients... Read more

Open Book September 1, 2023

Going Public with your Therapist

Reexamining a Compelling Film Through a New Lens

Do Sarah Brady’s allegations about Jonah Hill undermine the implicit message of Stutz, his documentary about therapy? Read more

"I Know What's Wrong With Me"

Social Media and the Lure of Self-Diagnosis

Although people might benefit from the sense of certainty that accompanies a self-diagnosis, it can also mislead them into embracing a fixed—or even a... Read more

The Hidden Trauma of Moral Injury

From Personal Anguish to Communal Healing

Because moral injury—one of the most significant contributors to the high rate of suicide among U.S. veterans—is rooted in conscience, not fear... Read more

Awakening the Warrior

A Black Psychologist’s Battle with Racism
Broderick Adam Sawyer

"Like my father before me I’ll continue to wage war against racism, confident that awareness will hold my aim steady." Read more

The War at Home and Abroad

A Therapist’s Call to Action

It’s time for all of us to let ourselves feel the pain of these crimes, instead of ignoring it. In doing so, perhaps we can foster an appreciation of... Read more