The Unspeakeasy With Meghan Daum Are Therapists Crazy? Andrew Hartz's quest for sanity in clinical psychology
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Sep 18, 2025 Andrew Hartz, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Open Therapy Institute, discusses current challenges in mental health care. He identifies the rise of "everyday dissociation" linked to screen use and the pitfalls of online diagnostic labels. Hartz reveals how anxiety has transformed into a form of social currency and critiques the limitations of traditional talk therapy. He advocates for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a more effective approach and shares insights about the politicization of therapy training and the role of AI.
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Build Training To Fill Blind Spots
- Hartz recommends building clinician networks and trainings that address biases and underserved clinical topics.
- He launched Open Therapy Institute to provide accessible, clinician-focused continuing education on these gaps.
Funding Tracks Reflect Program Focus
- Funding in psychology programs correlates with research vs. clinical focus; research-heavy PhDs more often offer funding.
- Clinical-focused programs often require students to self-fund and vary widely in practical training.
Therapist Training Varies Wildly
- Hartz emphasizes vast inconsistency across training programs in what clinicians learn and which competencies they gain.
- This variability produces large differences in therapy quality and scope of practice.