Podcast Summary

Podcast: Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words
Episode: What Happens When You Tell Therapists That Whiteness Is a Disease? | Dr. Andrew Hartz
Date: February 27, 2026
Host: Victor Davis Hanson
Guest: Dr. Andrew Hartz, Founder & President, Open Therapy Institute

Episode Overview

This episode features guest host Andrew Hartz, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Open Therapy Institute, in an in-depth conversation with Victor Davis Hanson. The discussion centers on the ideological shifts in the mental health field—particularly the rise of identity politics, “woke” ideology, and their impact on therapy, education, and professional associations. Dr. Hartz shares his personal experiences during training, observations about the profession, and the impetus behind founding the Open Therapy Institute as a counterbalance to ideological bias in mental health care.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Increasing Demand for Mental Health Services

• Trends: There’s a notable increase in reported rates of anxiety and depression, especially among young people.
• Factors: Social media, technology, breakdown of community/family, and greater awareness are cited as drivers.
• Quote (06:03):
  “There definitely is data that over the past decade, reported rates of anxiety, depression, things like that are increasing, especially in young people… There’s more awareness and there also might be higher base rates of prevalence.”
  — Andrew Hartz

2. Rise of Ideological Activism in Therapist Training

• Shift in Curriculum: From 2013 to 2019, Dr. Hartz observed a dramatic escalation of political content in psychology training.
• Ideological Framing: Race, gender, and identity categories became dominant frameworks; certain groups were consistently praised or scapegoated.
• Required Readings: Materials described “whiteness as a parasitic condition” and framed white identity as inherently immoral.
• Dissent Discouraged: Challenging identity narratives was unwelcome.
• Quote (08:00): “By the end, it was like a weekly training... It was very clear that racial categories, different demographic categories were ranked. One was a good category, one was bad... These types of readings that are praised as, you know, great virtuous things that need to be taught, and they are being taught.”
  — Andrew Hartz

3. Racialization and Hierarchies in Training

• First-hand Experience: As the only white male in his program, Hartz recounts being ostracized after questioning anti-white sentiments.
• Normalization of Bias: Expression of hostility toward certain groups (e.g., white males) was not only tolerated but rewarded.
• Consequence for Dissent: Speaking up led to professional and social difficulties.
• Quote (13:13): “One of the trainees… says that she has a white male patient and she hates him… just because he's a white male. And the response in the room was, 'We totally understand why you'd feel that way, and you're brave and courageous for saying it.'”
  — Andrew Hartz

4. Therapist Political Leanings and Activism

• Field Imbalance: Roughly 90% of therapists lean left politically and a high proportion are atheists/agnostics.
• Social Work: Explicitly mandates activism in its codes and training.
• Therapy Approaches: Many are saturated with ideological frameworks (feminist therapy, queer theory, etc.).
• Quote (18:36): “I think it's 90, about 90% of therapists are on the left… Social work as a profession… explicitly stipulate social justice activism.”
  — Andrew Hartz

5. Manifestations of Ideology in Therapy Practice

• Definition Inflation: Behaviors or beliefs such as skepticism toward DEI or voting for Trump are frequently labeled as racism.

• Therapy Settings: Overt activist cues in offices (BLM, pride flags, partisan magazines) signal ideological bias.

• Impact on Patients: Patients often self-censor or avoid discussing faith/politics to dodge judgment.

• Quote (21:09): “Their definition of what racism is just has expanded and expanded... They've kind of taken, taken it step by step to expand it.”
  — Andrew Hartz

• Quote (24:28): “There are all these kinds of more subtle things… that well intentioned therapists make. I do want to say I think there are a lot of really great therapists out there… It's just too hard to find them.”
  — Andrew Hartz

6. Open Therapy Institute: Mission & Approach

• Purpose: To provide a network of therapists who offer non-judgmental, bias-free care, and to develop new professional literature and training.
• Services:
  • Therapist directory, vetting, and professional network (active in 48 states)
  • Training programs on topics like cancel culture, therapy for gun owners, issues affecting men, faith in therapy
  • Publishes a peer-reviewed, accessible journal cataloging sociopolitical issues in mental health
• Quote (26:22): “I wanted there to be a place where people… wanted to find somebody who got them and got their values… And so that became a difficult problem then…”
  — Andrew Hartz

7. Frontiers in Mental Health and Open Inquiry in Mental Health (Journals)

• Approach: Accessible, peer-reviewed publications cataloguing overlooked and politicized dynamics in therapy.
• Topics Covered: Trans issues, faith, political conflict, therapy for gun owners, cancel culture.
• Quote (32:14): “It's a unique project… We really want this to be something that anybody can pick up and read and understand, but that it's at a level of thinking that this has been peer reviewed… quality professional literature.”
  — Andrew Hartz

8. Culpability of Professional Associations

• Activist Capture: Major associations like the APA are easily captured by small groups of activists due to low voting turnout.
• Extreme Examples: APA Division 39 hosting fringe panels, presidents declaring therapy should focus on political liberation.
• University Bias: Elite institutions exhibit even more severe ideological homogeneity in psychology faculties.
• Quote (34:34): “It's that they're so easy for activists to capture professional associations… with 2.6% of your field… they can capture your professional organization...”
  — Andrew Hartz

9. Vision for the Future

• Growth Potential: Anticipates the Institute growing to tens of thousands of members across disciplines.

• Broader Impact: Hopes to create textbooks, courses, and educational interventions, establishing a lasting alternative to ideologically driven associations.

• Quote (38:17): “The potential membership that we could get might be a third of the profession… If you're looking for a therapist and you don't want somebody woke… there's potential to become a really large point of contact...”
  — Andrew Hartz

• Quote (41:08): “People need to have higher standards and expect to be able to find somebody who really gets them and has compassion for them.”
  — Andrew Hartz

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On ideology in training:
  “Having to read articles that are titled ‘Whiteness is a parasitic condition’ that argues that white people acquire whiteness at birth and it's an incurable parasitic virus that makes them less moral.”
  — Andrew Hartz, (08:00)

• On personal experience as a white male student:
  “I just said, you know, I'm the only white male in the room. How do people feel about me? And obviously that got crickets. I got no support at all, not surprisingly.”
  — Andrew Hartz, (13:13)

• On the Institute’s purpose:
  “I would say I have no clue. I don't know where you can go. There's nowhere. That was the answer in 2020. And I wanted there to be a place…”
  — Andrew Hartz, (26:22)

Timeline / Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00] – Hartz discusses data on rising mental health diagnoses; background on curriculum shifts
• [06:03] – Trends in rising rates and awareness of mental health needs
• [08:00] – Deep dive into the politicization of therapy training and clinical settings
• [13:13] – Hartz’s personal account of bias during graduate training
• [18:36] – Disproportion of left-leaning therapists and activist social work
• [21:09] – Specific manifestations of ideology in the therapy room
• [25:35] – Founding and mission of the Open Therapy Institute
• [29:50] – Frontiers in Mental Health journal
• [34:34] – How professional associations have been politically “captured”
• [38:17] – Future ambitions for the Institute and call for raising standards

Final Thoughts

Dr. Andrew Hartz argues that politicization in mental health is not only real but may be more insidious and widespread than outsiders suspect. As ideology seeps into training, therapy, and professional organizations, patients increasingly face the risk of judgment or inappropriate interventions based on their identity or beliefs. The Open Therapy Institute stands as a new platform for those seeking unbiased therapy, aiming to restore patient-centered care and rebuild professional standards through literature, training, and community. As Victor Davis Hanson notes, this counter-movement may be the only large-scale effort pushing back against ideological capture in mental health care.

For more:

• Visit OpenTherapyInstitute.org
• Read the Institute’s journal (“Open Inquiry in Mental Health”) via their website
• Further information and exclusive features at victorhanson.com