by Jeffrey E. Hansen, PhD

 

There was a time when psychology was dedicated to truth, healing and human flourishing. At its core, our profession was meant to serve as a beacon of understanding, guiding individuals toward mental clarity, emotional resilience and personal freedom. It was never perfect—no human endeavor is—but it at least sought to uphold certain ethical principles, chief among them being informed consent and the unwavering commitment to act in the best interest of the patient. Today, however, psychology has been hijacked by ideology, transformed into a vehicle for social engineering rather than a refuge for those in need of true healing.

 

This radical shift has not been a sudden one. It has crept in gradually over decades, infiltrating university departments, professional organizations and licensing boards. What was once a science-based practice focused on evidence and ethical responsibility has become a propaganda arm for the most extreme elements of progressivism. The traditional goals of therapy—helping individuals process trauma, develop coping mechanisms and find meaning in their struggles—have been cast aside in favor of ideological indoctrination. Instead of guiding clients toward wholeness, many therapists today use their influence to promote what they believe their clients should think, feel and become, rather than addressing the actual issues that brought them into therapy in the first place.

 

The Betrayal of Informed Consent

One of the most egregious violations in modern psychology is the complete abandonment of informed consent. Historically, this principle has been foundational to ethical medical and psychological practice. Patients have the right to understand their treatment options, the potential risks and benefits and the framework through which their care is being delivered. Yet in many cases, clients—especially young, vulnerable individuals—are not given the full picture. Instead, they are subtly manipulated into embracing particular worldviews, often under the guise of “affirming care” or “social justice-informed therapy.”

 

Nowhere is this more evident than in the treatment of gender dysphoria. Rather than helping children and adolescents explore the root causes of their distress—trauma, family dynamics, underlying mental health conditions—many therapists now rush to push immediate affirmation, shutting down any discussion that deviates from the predetermined narrative. These young people are placed on a conveyor belt toward medical interventions with life-altering consequences, often without being given the space to understand the implications fully. The ethical violations in this area alone should be enough to result in mass revocations of licenses. That will never happen, though, because the licensing boards themselves are equally corrupt.

 

Licensing Boards: The Corrupt Gatekeepers of Ideology

Licensing boards were originally established to protect the public from harm, ensuring professionals adhere to rigorous ethical and clinical standards. Today, however, they function more like enforcers of ideological purity. Rather than holding clinicians accountable for ethical violations, they actively punish those who dare to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy.

 

We have seen cases where therapists who refuse to engage in politically mandated affirmation practices—who instead advocate for exploratory therapy, who encourage critical thinking, who insist on addressing trauma before endorsing irreversible medical interventions—are accused of causing harm, reported for “conversion therapy” and stripped of their right to practice. Meanwhile, those who recklessly impose their ideological biases on clients, disregarding their individual needs and vulnerabilities, are celebrated as forward-thinking pioneers of the profession.

 

The message is clear: If you conform to the ideology, you are safe, no matter how egregious your ethical violations may be. If you challenge it, you will be silenced.

 

Psychology Has Become a Weapon, Not a Healing Profession

The tragedy of this transformation is that it directly harms the very people our profession was meant to help. Instead of fostering resilience, therapy has become a place where fragile identities are reinforced, where discomfort is framed as oppression and where personal responsibility is discarded in favor of victimhood narratives. Rather than challenging clients to grow and confront the deeper issues at the root of their suffering, many therapists now enable dysfunction, offering superficial validation instead of substantive healing.

 

This is not just a deviation from good practice—it is an inversion of it. Therapy should challenge, refine and ultimately empower individuals to navigate life with strength and wisdom. Yet, today’s dominant therapeutic approach often does the opposite: It weakens, infantilizes and entraps people in cycles of emotional dependency.

 

Who Sits at the Head of the Table?

I am ashamed of what our profession has become. We were meant to be healers, but many have become indoctrinators. We were called to help people find truth, but many now peddle comforting lies. Psychology, at its worst today, serves as a mechanism for ideological grooming rather than a science-driven pursuit of human well-being. It is difficult not to look at the state of the field and wonder if something darker is at play.

 

There is an old saying that when you see chaos, deception and the inversion of truth, you can be certain Satan is at work. Looking at the state of psychology today, one might ask—who is really sitting at the head of the table? The answer is sobering. It is as if Satan himself is the chair of the psychology department, orchestrating the corruption of a profession that was meant to guide people toward clarity, peace and freedom.

 

The Path Forward

All is not lost. The truth, by its very nature, cannot be fully erased. While the institutions have been captured, there are still therapists—ethical, principled professionals—who refuse to bow to ideology, who are committed to true healing rather than manipulation. The key to reclaiming psychology lies in those willing to stand firm, to speak the truth and to practice with integrity despite the pressures to conform.

 

It will not be easy. Those who resist the tide will face hostility, professional risks and possibly even exile from the institutions they once trusted. That is the price of standing for truth in a time of mass deception. And if psychology is to be saved, it will be through the courage of those who refuse to let it be wielded as a weapon of ideological control.

 

For the sake of our patients, our profession and the integrity of truth itself, we must fight for the restoration of real, ethical and effective therapy. Anything less is a betrayal of the very reason we entered this field in the first place.

 

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Jeffrey E. Hansen, PhD, is the Clinical Director of Holdfast Recovery and AnchorPoint, faith-based, neuroscience-informed treatment centers specializing in addiction and trauma recovery. He is also the Founder and Director of NeuroFaith™, an organization dedicated to integrating neuroscience, psychology and faith to promote healing and transformation. A published author of five books, Dr. Hansen holds a BA in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Arkansas, with specialized training in pediatric psychology. His career spans decades across military, clinical and academic settings, including private practice and faculty roles in graduate medical education.