Mind the Science

Saving your Mental Health from the Wellness Industry

By: Dr. Jonathan N. Stea PhD

Narrated by: Jonathan N. Stea PhD

Length: Not Yet Known

Publisher's summary

A clinical psychologist who regularly deals with some of society's most vulnerable exposes and debunks the predatory pseudoscience and grift of the multi-trillion-dollar wellness industry and points us towards a better way to take care of our mental health.

Can the unbroken gaze of a lone man on a stage in front of hundreds of people truly alleviate their mental distress? Can Berlin Wall pills or a coffee enema cure depression? Can we improve our mental health with past-life regression therapy, cold-water shock therapy, rebirthing therapy? Wellness grifters and alternative-health snake oil salesmen are everywhere these days, and when our medical systems are under stress (and we are, too!) these costly purveyors of false hope are worse than a waste of money—they can lead us to delay badly needed care from real professionals, exacerbate our conditions and, in the most tragic of cases, even kill us.

Today, people looking to care for their mental health face a market with at least 600 “brands” of psychotherapy—and counting. Most are ineffective, and many could be harmful. There exist countless unregulated providers of mental health services in the $5.6 trillion USD wellness industry and alternative medicine community looking to exploit people’s financial and emotional vulnerabilities. The world of mental health care is very much caveat emptor: buyer beware.

Having seen so many of his patients hurt by the pseudoscience circulating in the industry, Dr. Jonathan N. Stea is on a mission to expose its harm and protect the public from mental health misinformation. In a landscape of rampant burnout and at a time when mental health concerns are at a fever pitch, Mind the Science provides hope and real information to those who have been touched by mental illness, have been misled by false marketing, or are simply curious about the relationship between science and mental health.

©2024 Dr. Jonathan N. Stea (P)2024 Random House Canada

Critic reviews

"Witty, fun, timely, and, most important, science-informed, Dr. Jonathan N. Stea’s new book, Mind the Science, is more than just a thorough debunk of the boatload of health BS that circulates in popular culture. It has a much-needed focus on mental health misinformation, which he handles—by drawing on both the best available evidence and his professional clinical experience—with empathy and humor. This book is for everyone, including healthcare professionals, patients, and anyone looking for an antidote to all the pseudoscientific nonsense that pollutes our information ecosystem!"—Timothy Caulfield, Order of Canada recipient and author of Relax: A Guide to Everyday Health Decisions with More Facts and Less Worry

"A fascinating, comprehensive, and eye-opening read on the barrage of mental health misinformation flooding us these days. Stea not only explains how to spot pseudoscience in a clear, digestible manner, but also offers fascinating anecdotes and historic examples that bring the issues to life. If anyone has ever been curious about what works and what doesn't, Mind the Science breaks it all down in an entertaining, approachable read that will leave you armed against predatory propaganda. This is a smart, empathetic manual that will help you navigate the often confusing and murky field of mental health."—Rina Raphael, journalist and author of The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care

“Stea has been battling against mental health misinformation and educating people on social media for years. Now he has pulled together his breadth of knowledge, education and experience to reveal how extensively the “wellness industry” exploits people at their most vulnerable. It’s not just supplements or unapproved drugs that pose danger. Stea explains how spurious “psychotherapy” methods can be just as insidious, and he describes the red flags—tropes and tactics used by charlatans—that people can watch for to avoid being seduced by scams. This book is an essential tool for anyone wanting to inoculate themselves against the snake oil salesmen willing to trade people’s mental health to fill their pockets or needing to learn strategies to protect the ones they love.”—Tara Haelle, author of Vaccination Investigation and The Informed Parent