Part 1: Trust issues (with pseudoscience): Why evidence still matters in psychology
If you’ve ever scrolled through Instagram and seen a “trauma coach” recommending tapping, reiki, or “energy alignment” to heal your nervous system, or if you’ve ever wondered whether evidence-based therapy is just code for “cold and clinical”, this series is for you.
As a psychologist, I spend a lot of time helping people untangle what actually helps from what just sounds helpful. And in the mental health world, that’s not as easy as it should be. The internet has turned therapy into a buffet of choices: somatic healing, brainspotting, hypnotherapy, IFS, crystal therapy, coaching… all served with glossy marketing and words like healing, holistic, and trauma-informed.
A therapy doesn’t have to involve herbs or crystals to be questionable. It might just be one that sounds psychological but hasn’t been tested, uses unvalidated assessments, or promises results that real science can’t deliver. And in a world where mental health struggles are increasing, that matters.
The problem isn’t curiosity (it’s credibility)
People turn to alternative approaches for good reasons. Maybe mainstream treatments haven’t helped. Maybe they want something that feels more human, more connected, or less medicalised. Those instincts make sense. But pseudoscience exploits them.
Pseudoscientific therapies don’t just fail to help, sometimes they harm. From “rebirthing therapy” that led to a child’s death, to “cold water therapy” promoted as a cure for PTSD, history is full of examples where good intentions met bad science.
Even when there’s no physical danger, pseudoscientific treatments can waste time, money, and hope. They can steer people away from interventions that work, while giving the illusion of healing. And because pseudoscience borrows the language of psychology (words like trauma, energy, healing, processing, regulation) it can be hard to tell where the evidence ends and the wishful thinking begins.
Why this series exists
This series is about giving you the tools to tell the difference.
We’ll look at:
What evidence-based therapy actually means and how “evidence” works in psychology.
Why pseudoscience is so seductive and the psychological reasons people are drawn to it.
Common red flags in therapy and wellness culture from fake diagnoses to “energy medicine.”
How to evaluate new or emerging approaches (because science isn’t static).
And how to be an informed consumer of mental health care, even if you’re not a scientist.
You’ll also see why some therapies sit in a “grey zone”, not outright fake, but not yet proven. Things like EMDR and psychedelic-assisted treatments all raise interesting questions about what counts as evidence and how new ideas evolve.
Why it matters
Pseudoscience isn’t harmless. It erodes trust in real therapy, exploits vulnerable people, and weakens the professions that rely on science to do their job responsibly. It also distracts from bigger systemic issues (e.g., access, cost, and stigma) that make people seek “alternative” cures in the first place.
Good therapy doesn’t need to sell miracles. It’s often slow, uncomfortable, and unglamorous. But it works. Not because it promises magic, but because it’s built on something far more powerful: evidence.
