Sep 18, 2025
Dr. Andrew Hartz is a practicing clinical psychologist and the
founder of the Open Therapy Institute, an organization dedicated to
overcoming sociopolitical bias in the mental health field. He was
last here in 2023 and returns now to talk about what’s changed—and
what hasn’t—in the mental-health landscape since then. We discuss
the rise of “everyday dissociation,” how screens and Zoom
relationships dull presence and feeling, and why talk therapy can
miss the mark when the problem is disconnection from the body.
Andrew also explains how anxiety became a form of social currency
(from dating to testing accommodations), the overuse of diagnostic
labels online, and why Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
offers a saner path than endless self-rumination.
Guest Bio:
Andrew Hartz is the Founder, President, and Executive Director of
the Open Therapy Institute. He's also a practicing clinical
psychologist and was formerly a professor in the clinical
psychology doctoral program at Long Island University, where he
also completed his Ph.D. He's been featured in the New York Times,
on The Dr. Drew Podcast, on Dr. Phil Primetime, and in The Free
Press and has written about political issues and mental health for
outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, City Journal, Discourse,
Heterodox Academy, the New York Post, and Quillette.