Does woke ideology in psychotherapy education damage the field of professional counseling? Therapists are being evaluated more and more on the fundamental axioms that underlay critical social justice theory instead of the traditional principles that empower counselors to effectively and respectfully treat their patients. In this week's episode, I am joined by Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Christine Sefein to discuss her experiences in higher education that led her to a deep questioning of critical social justice and its anti-human sentiment.
Christine is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in grief and trauma work. She has worked most extensively with grieving adults and children in a variety of communities and settings including dual-diagnosis residential facilities, intensive outpatient treatment, homeless shelters and in private practice. Christine has held positions such as Clinical Director of OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center, Clinical Supervisor of the Interpersonal Violence programs at California Lutheran University, and grief specialist.
Christine Sefein is also Professor of Clinical Psychology, and most recently taught at Antioch University Los Angeles, in the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology Program. Christine is currently co-hosting a podcast for
Critical Therapy Antidote which will premiere soon, coinciding with the release of the book,
Cynical Therapies: Perspectives on the AntiTherapeutic Nature of Critical Social Justice, which features an essay she authored. You can find this book in
my bookshop or via
this Amazon affiliate link; either way, your purchase supports the show. Thank you!
As a public speaker and formal educator, Christine dedicates her time to educating others on the harms of Critical Social Justice in the field of Psychology. You can contact Christine at
csefein@christinesefeinmft.com.
In this episode, I mentioned previously aired episodes with Amy Gallagher, Leslie Elliot, James Esses, and Andrew Hartz. Those can be found below:
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What is You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist?
A podcast at the intersection of psychology and culture that intimately explores the human experience and critiques the counseling profession. Your host, Stephanie Winn, distills wisdom gained from her practice as a family therapist and coach while pivoting towards questions of how to apply a practical understanding of psychology to the novel dilemmas of the 21st century, from political polarization to medical malpractice.
What does ethical mental health care look like in a normless age, as our moral compasses spin in search of true north? How can therapists treat patients under pressure to affirm everything from the notion of "gender identity" to assisted suicide?
Primarily a long-form interview podcast, Stephanie invites unorthodox, free-thinking guests from many walks of life, including counselors, social workers, medical professionals, writers, researchers, and people with unique lived experience, such as detransitioners.
Curious about many things, Stephanie’s interdisciplinary psychological lens investigates challenging social issues and inspires transformation in the self, relationships, and society. She is known for bringing calm warmth to painful subjects, and astute perceptiveness to ethically complex issues. Pick up a torch to illuminate the dark night and join us on this journey through the inner wilderness.
You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist ranks in the top 1% globally according to ListenNotes. New episodes are released every Monday. Three and a half years after the show's inception in May of 2022, Stephanie became a Christian, representing the crystallization of moral, spiritual, and existential views she had been openly grappling with along with her audience and guests. Newer episodes (#188 forward) may sometimes reflect a Christian understanding, interwoven with and applied to the same issues the podcast has always addressed. The podcast remains diverse and continues to feature guests from all viewpoints.