On Point | Podcast

Have we taken therapy culture too far?

Sep 12, 2025
Laura Delano, author of "Unshrunk" and founder of Inner Compass Initiative, dives into the complexities of therapy culture among young people. She discusses how social media fuels self-diagnosis and shapes identities through mental health labels. Delano critiques the trend of medicalizing imperfection, arguing it risks overshadowing what makes us human. The conversation emphasizes the importance of moving towards a more holistic understanding of emotional wellness that embraces individual experiences rather than rigid diagnoses.
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INSIGHT

Mental Health As Core Identity

  • A large share of Gen Z, especially women, now see mental-health challenges as central to identity.
  • Freya India worries this inward focus may erase language for personality and ordinary human experience.
ADVICE

Stop Ruminating, Look Outward

  • Freya India and Laura urge young people to stop overanalyzing and look outward for meaning.
  • Resist constant inward rumination and reclaim non-medical language for life experiences.
INSIGHT

Medicalization Fuels Therapy Culture

  • Laura Delano links therapy culture to medicalization of ordinary human variation.
  • She traces expansion to mid-20th century and accelerated pharmaceutical and brain-science eras.
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