#194 Abigail Shrier: The Parent-Therapy Trap

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Over the last decade, therapy has become the de facto solution to solve all sorts of problems for all sorts of people. Everyone has slowly accepted that therapy is normal and a net benefit to society.

But instead of helping kids work through difficult circumstances, what if it's just making the problems worse? That's what Abigail Shrier thinks is happening, and in this conversation, she reveals some surprising reasons why.

Shane and Shrier discuss the real reason therapy is "bad," how we got to this point of acceptance as a culture, and what you can do as a parent to get back to normalcy. Shrier also shares her experiences with lifelong therapy patients, who should actually be in therapy, and the one thing that makes someone a successful parent.

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(00:00) Intro

(05:44) Inverse: How do we raise mentally unstable kids?

(08:29) How we got to now

(11:45) Bad therapy...or just social trends?

(13:21) Being your kids' friend: good or bad?

(15:55) The parenting type that raises the BEST kids
(21:35) Is this all the parents' fault?

(29:53) Is "Bad Therapy" a world-wide problem?

(32:57) Talk to your kids' therapist about these things

(42:09) The importance of facing adversity in childhood

(47:06) Can we blame grad schools for all of this?

(49:14) On technology and social media

(51:03) Schools should "never" have gotten involved in mental health

(54:43) Did COVID accelerate "bad therapy?"

(56:07) How to return to normalcy

(58:21) Why Shane shares negative YouTube comments with his kids

(01:01:23) Shrier's experience being "cancelled"

(01:04:13) On prestige media

(01:07:47) Small steps parents can take to return to normal

(01:11:02) Dealing with schools saying one thing and parents saying another

(01:13:32) Why is the silent majority...silent?

(01:16:32) If this continues, what happens?

(01:18:19) What makes someone a successful parent?