NY Times Best Selling Author
An author challenging how institutions approach childhood.
Why this speaker matters
A useful starting point for an institutional argument: separate the problem being described from the evidence for its proposed cause.
Relevant context
Shrier’s work questions the authority given to schools and therapeutic institutions in decisions about children. The central issue is not whether young people can need help, but which interventions improve outcomes and which may create unintended dependence.
Relevant context
Bad Therapy makes a causal argument about well-intentioned treatment and resilience. Listen for the evidence offered, the population it applies to and what would distinguish harm from correlation or selection effects.
Who they are
Abigail Shrier is a journalist, a Free Press columnist and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. She wrote Irreversible Damage in 2020 and Bad Therapy in 2024. Her work addresses gender, parenting, youth mental health and the influence of schools and therapeutic institutions. These are authored arguments, not a summary of clinical consensus.
What they are working on
Bad Therapy argues that some well-intentioned therapeutic approaches can undermine children’s resilience and independence. Presenting that thesis accurately means identifying it as Shrier’s case, rather than converting it into an established medical finding. Her work sits in a wider debate about the authority of parents, educators and mental-health professionals.
Listed by the Summit organizer ↗, checked 2026-09-09. Appearances may change. Atlas is an independent guide.
