We Feminized Psychology, Parenting, and Society - Dr. Camilo Ortiz

Quick Overview

Dr. Camilo Ortiz argues that the secret to better parenting is for parents to "Do less of it," asserting that excessive parental involvement, driven by anxiety and often guided by a feminized field of psychology, deprives children, especially boys, of necessary experiences with discomfort, distress, disappointment, and danger, which are crucial for developing independence and mental resilience.

Key Points: Parents are spending more time and money on their children, yet mental health outcomes, measured by subjective reports and objective measures like suicide attempts and ER hospitalizations, are demonstrably worse than in the last 20 years. The negative effects of overparenting, once concentrated in wealthy coastal families, are spreading globally and domestically, with 'the poor are catching up' in experiencing these adverse outcomes. Overparenting deprives boys of practice with physical and dangerous activities, specifically depriving them of the 'four Ds': discomfort, distress, disappointment, and danger, which is essential for self-image and problem-solving. The field of clinical psychology, now dominated by women who are 'less prone to seek conflict' and more focused on consensus, pushes advice that leans toward prioritizing a child's feelings and reducing all upset, which Dr. Ortiz contends is counterproductive. Dr. Ortiz advocates for parents to follow their own intelligence and wisdom rather than farming decisions to experts, noting that his new article suggests parents should 'Do less of it' regarding direct involvement. Abigail Shrier's book, "Bad Therapy," is praised for pointing out that a significant percentage of people who go to therapy are harmed (iatrogenic effects), a warning therapists rarely give despite its importance. Universal prevention interventions for depression in schools, like those using mindfulness techniques, consistently show effect sizes close to zero because students fail to practice the skills unless they are already in distress, with one study showing an average practice of only 1.7 days out of 365.