What Scott Alexander thinks about Psychotherapy
Essayist; writes Astral Codex Ten, previously Slate Star Codex. Keeps a numbered public list of the things he has been convinced he got wrong, which is where most of the turns recorded here come from.
Everything they publish, on ppll ↗
Scott Alexander did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
3 dated positions, 2021 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Scott Alexander has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsIf you suffer from amygdala hyperactivity that gives you one of the aforementioned psychiatric disorders, I think that not only should you be offered elective amygdalectomy, but your health insurance should be glad to pay for it (especially if done via ultramodern very safe radiosurgery) one time, rather than for a lifetime supply of more expensive, less effective talk therapies and medications.
↗Absurd Adventure And Amygdalectomy Advocacyastralcodexten.com
- 4 years earlier
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Their wordsI would recommend that anyone who thinks they're suffering from trauma (eg PTSD) try a trauma-focused therapy like EMDR before trying to address nightmares directly, unless the nightmares are overwhelmingly worse than all their other trauma symptoms.
- 16 months earlier
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Their wordsFirst, it justifies various psychotherapies - EMDR and coherence therapy seem to come out especially well here - that focus on trying to get the brain to pay unusually precise attention, under unusually safe conditions, to something it usually represses.