Therapy
The practice of treating psychological distress through structured conversation with a trained clinician — encompassing approaches as varied as Freudian psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioural therapy, and humanistic counselling. Now a mainstream feature of contemporary culture, especially in the United States, therapy has its defenders, who point to evidence of efficacy across depression, anxiety, and trauma, and its critics — Abigail Shrier, Freddie deBoer — who argue that uncritical valorisation of therapy can entrench victimhood narratives, ideological capture of the profession, and a learned dependence on professional emotional management.