Welcome to Psycho/Therapy with Leah Denton, a groundbreaking podcast that delves into the crucial—and often overlooked—topic of therapy harm and pastoral counseling abuse.

Therapeutic harm comes in many forms, whether driven by questionable ethics, a lack of training and education, or outright ill intent. The power imbalance inherent in therapeutic relationships provides a breeding ground for abuse, and the lack of witnesses further complicates the issue. Those who endure harm in this setting are often isolated, belittled, and silenced both by the individual therapist and the larger mental health industry, and too many people fall through the cracks—abandoned by a system that promised them hope and healing.

Leah launched Psycho/Therapy to help tell those stories, and to offer resources and insights about the complex dynamics that can lead to therapeutic harm. As a survivor of therapy harm herself, Leah knows all too well that the mental health industry often functions more like a well-oiled machine, driven by financial incentive and professional standing, rather than a truly relational practice committed to ethical, informed treatment.

It’s time to start spreading the word, and to do so by amplifying the voices of those who are so frequently absent from the narrative: the survivors themselves, whose stories and insights are not just valuable but imperative. Through in-depth discussions and powerful interviews with survivors, together we unravel the systems, relational dynamics, and psychological complexities that are all at play when the intimacy of the therapeutic space is subverted for harm.

Mental health treatment is a vital resource, and the therapeutic relationship can be a powerful source of healing and growth. But that relationship’s potential for good is deeply undermined when we refuse to acknowledge its potential for harm. That’s why we’re committed to telling these stories and furthering these conversations, and that’s why we launched Psycho/Therapy. We hope you’ll join us.