Santa Clara University’s Therapy Program: An Ideological Cesspool

If it was any less crazy, people would believe it

Naomi Epps Best bravely exposed the ideological cesspool that Santa Clara University’s therapy program has become. Read her fantastic WSJ article here:

Santa Clara University’s Crazy Idea of Human Sexuality Therapy

The problem is, what the department was teaching was just so completely unhinged that sane people would think, “This can’t possibly be true. It’s too insane.” But alas, I lived this at my former university.

Day in and day out, just when I thought peak insanity was reached, a new instance of derangement was achieved. It was a never-ending well of the most extraordinary claims (women can have penises, the police cause crime, “systems” are responsible for all disparities in outcomes, works of white men should not be included in the curriculum, there should be no criticism of Native American philosophy from “settlers,” African Americans are discriminated against at elite US universities, biology is just a narrative that’s neither superior nor inferior to other narratives, capitalism is inherently discriminatory against minorities, etc., etc.) that could not be questioned. And if you did question the received wisdom, then you were summoned to the Diversity Office or to the dean’s or the department chair, and harassed without end.

Santa Clara University’s Therapy Program’s Content

I can completely relate to Naomi’s experience. She’s a person who’s trying to figure out what’s going on, who asks sincere questions, and who’s punished as a result. The derangement that she experienced, however, was less global in its scope and more confined to creepy sex stuff that the faculty subjected her to in required coursework. And to be clear, “creepy” is the perfect word for what they foisted upon her.

Here are some examples from our conversation:

“Sadomasochistic erotica that was promotional and meant to titillate.”

“Crazy written illustration guide of a man engaged with a sheep.”

“What type of lubrication to use with farm animals.”

She was asked to write a sexual autobiography.

“When did you start masturbating?”

She was asked about her childhood sexual memories.

“How is your sex life going to affect your work?”

“Told to write something down I disliked about my breasts and genitals to have it be read aloud to the class.”

Muslim students claimed it would be inappropriate for them to take it in a group setting. As a Christian she wanted the same religious accommodation but was denied.

“Video of group masturbation of women.”

Not all of these are equally deranged, of course, with priority going to “What type of lubrication to use with farm animals” and discussion of sex and children. It is also unclear how knowing her masturbatory habits or her sex life with her husband will improve treatment outcomes for future patients.

Ideological Overreach

At this juncture, we need to be clear about a few things. Naomi was in a therapy program. The purpose of that program is, ostensibly, to train therapists to improve the lives of their clients. And within that context it is obviously possible that she’ll have a client who will have sexual urges directed toward children or sheep. Consequently, she will need tools to deal with clients who suffer from these maladies.

But we should also be clear that these are indeed maladies. Sex with a child is a red line that civil society cannot condone. If it has to be spelled out for you why this is, it’s because of the detrimental psychological damage to children. Children are not old enough to consent to sex, and thus the physical act is rape. Affirming one’s desires to do this, particularly in a clinical context, should be a criminal offense. And any institution that trains future clinicians to affirm this behavior should be denied federal funding, denied accreditation, and subject to civil penalties.

Beyond this, however, the entire system is rotten to the core. All of it. It has been ideologically captured in its totality: Peer-reviewed journals, training, professional societies (APA), accreditation bodies, professional magazines. All of it. I’ve often said universities should be burned to the ground, and people who still have hope the system can be reformed have bitterly criticized my position. To you I say, you do not realize the extent of the corruption. We have fabricated bodies of knowledge that have been idea laundered are that are completely untethered from reality.

Impact on Students and Patients

In this context, that means patients are not receiving evidence-based treatment. Clinicians think they’re doing what’s in the best interest of their clients, but are not. Institutions are going further down rabbit holes and creating ever deeper echo chambers. And the entire system is experiencing a crisis in its legitimacy. I am convinced that it is irredeemable and must be burned to the ground.

On a lighter note, I found this conversation to be really funny. Some people were upset that I laughed, but what Naomi experienced is so utterly absurd that laughter is a reasonable response: A student telling the class his penis is too big for his wife, the class watching videos of women masturbating, sheep fucking. Laughter is the perfect response.