Dr Jessica Taylor New Book

[Seiheiki]

Hi,

Is anyone else going to the Birmingham book launch of Sexy But Psycho on Sunday night?

That's awful if she has done that. Really dodgy and unethical.
However, I wouldn't trust a thing Jean Hackett said about anything . She is rather nasty to women who she deems aren't "worthy". Who made her an expert ?

I'm sorry but I really don't think Jessica Taylor would be stupid enough to publish women's stories without getting their permission.

This book has gone out through a major publisher, it will have been through legal. Why on earth would she risk this kind of criticism, when she knows what scrutiny she's under?

For those who haven't read it, she starts chapters by quoting an email she's received that's related to the chapter.

I would be staggered if she's not got permission from those women, it's absolutely basic stuff.

You might not like her self promotion, or how she goes about things, but I don't think anyone can accuse her of being stupid. And that would be really stupid.

@Sasketchewoo

That's sickening. And the book has just become a Sunday Times bestseller.

The woman whose story has been used is distraught and doesn't feel she can tackle Jess given the size (and devotion) of Jess's following. She clearly feels intimidated.

Yes, maybe. Or maybe she knows what she's saying won't stand up to a challenge.

I'm not sure it's a case of whether you believe JT or JH.

I think it's concerning that Jean Hatchet gave a warning that women's experiences could be used in a book & that they should be careful what they said to avoid any repercussions, then she was shouted down for this.

Now further down the line it appears that at least one (reading the Twitter feed, potentially many more) women who did speak to JT about her experiences, has found her experiences detailed in JT's book.

It's not looking good for JT if she's used women's experiences in her book, in a way that these women didn't agree to/which puts them at risk.

I think it's concerning that Jean Hatchet gave a warning that women's experiences could be used in a book & that they should be careful what they said to avoid any repercussions, then she was shouted down for this

Yes. Jean's caution seemed fair and sensible to me, that response is really uncalled for and unprofessional. Women should never be shamed or shouted at for expressing concerns about safety or privacy, that is fairly basic.

Not sure if it is growing or has always been there, but there are more professionals expressing concerns about JT's methodologies and conclusions.

Eg twitter.com/stephaniewilsy/status/1502978508175335427?s=21

twitter.com/nmpsychologist/status/1503099399794270208?s=21

@longlines

I'm sorry but I really don't think Jessica Taylor would be stupid enough to publish women's stories without getting their permission.

This book has gone out through a major publisher, it will have been through legal. Why on earth would she risk this kind of criticism, when she knows what scrutiny she's under?

For those who haven't read it, she starts chapters by quoting an email she's received that's related to the chapter.

I would be staggered if she's not got permission from those women, it's absolutely basic stuff.

You might not like her self promotion, or how she goes about things, but I don't think anyone can accuse her of being stupid. And that would be really stupid.

So you think this woman who says otherwise is lying?

I think that a lot of trauma stories are incredibly similar and this woman has presumed it “must” be her experience.

I don't disagree with all of her ideas, except they're not her ideas. They're not original, even denying bipolar is something other professionals in the field have said. Look at Van der Kolk. He says its not bipolar it's trauma and he's done the first prozac trials, edmr, other medication and says mediation and yoga are the best things to heal.

I don't like the polarised thinking and putting across ideas as her own original ones when they're not. However, I do think it's good that these conversations are happening as I do believe MH is overly medicalised. That doesn't mean medication isn't needed either. There's a balance and she's not found it.

There is always the chance that the abuse of two women has enough similarities that this woman sees her own abuse when it’s actually describing someone else. I don’t see how Jess can prove that though without revealing the other woman’s identity which she wouldn’t do.

twitter.com/sallyann98745/status/1505517081927856132

This tweet makes that seem very unlikely - it sounds like Jess has used really quite a lot of what Sally-Ann has disclosed to her.

Sorry this one twitter.com/sallyann98745/status/1505517081927856132

So we only believe women who have social clout? And gaslight the rest? Mkay.

Nobody said that, it’s just an unfortunate fact that many abuse stories are frighteningly similar.

So you'd rather not believe her when she explicitly says the quotes are extracts, meaning word for word?

So you think this woman who says otherwise is lying?

I have no idea, but something doesn't add up.

I think it's highly unlikely that Jessica has published women's stories without their permission in a book by a major publisher. She's not stupid and neither are they.

There are lots of possible scenarios where the woman who's accusing Jess may believe what she's saying but be wrong.

Her story being similar to others is one such possibility.

@AlongCameBetsy

I have come to no conclusion on the matter, it does need addressing, however something doesn’t add up so I wouldn’t want to speculate further on the matter.

Poor Sally. I can see exactly why she hasn’t come out and said anything outright she’s an abused woman who is too frightened to say anything in case she isn’t believed.

I think it's highly unlikely that Jessica has published women's stories without their permission in a book by a major publisher. She's not stupid and neither are they.

I'm not sure how much fact checking and running it through legal teams a book like this gets? It's not an academic paper, either so doesn't get peer reviewed.

I think it's highly unlikely that Jessica has published women's stories without their permission in a book by a major publisher. She's not stupid and neither are they

It’s precisely because she’s not stupid that she’ll know she absolutely can use this woman’s and there’s very little anyone can do about it. Unless the woman wants to crowdfund a hundred grand to litigate against JT in the civil courts, all JT has to do is deny it hard enough and wait for it to blow over.

@ZuttZeVootEeeVo

I think it's highly unlikely that Jessica has published women's stories without their permission in a book by a major publisher. She's not stupid and neither are they.

I'm not sure how much fact checking and running it through legal teams a book like this gets? It's not an academic paper, either so doesn't get peer reviewed.

If it was that survey Jess did it did have a consent form so you knew the results would be made public. If it was something that had been disclosed to Jess in another capacity then that is bad.

I liked why women are blamed for everything but I I won’t be buying this book because I think that Jess is wrong about autism. I am autistic and I have found some of her comments about it really offensive. There is also quite a significant amount of proof that several mental health conditions have provable differences in the brain or a genetic basis.

[quote Dobedodo]@Labtest7 yes those were the kind of things i was thinking. Non of the incidents individually are definite falsehoods but added up they so seem to add up to a lot.

I was also really unimpressed when she made a questionnaire and her and her wife made Infograph’s which stated x% of women had suffered y . I saw the flaw of extrapolating this data to the entire U.K. was raised with her repeatedly but she accused people of being elitist! I thought it was really off for them not to understand. Not extrapolating and not making your data appear misleading was drilled into me at undergrad. I would have thought it would be the same for any degree that involved statistics.[/quote]
I remember that questionnaire - self selecting women who'd been abused, I think? And yes, then extrapolated to 'all women in the UK', is that correct?

@aweegc

A few points:

1. There are plenty of people in the public eye who are criticised and questioned and that's how it should be. As soon as we can't do that, we're living under very different circumstances. And as someone with "lived experience" of such circumstances, I wish that everybody could feel the relief that comes with that freedom - admittedly alongside the sting of the criticism itself.

1. There seems to be an idea that academics publish work and everybody claps. From what I've seen a few people do, but it's a dog-eat-dog world and anything you publish is ripe for the picking. Academic take downs can be HARD!

1. There's a very popular psychiatrist who used to work at an elite American university who penned a book about the body's response to trauma. He's almost a superstar in some therapy settings - I've seen rooms of women fawn over him. I believe his work to be excellent. He's an absolute arse in my experience though - and it seems from someone I know who was in high school with him that it's a bit of a trend. "Questions" at seminars/workshops are basically opportunities for him to be praised. I've seen him speak rudely about someone in front of an extended audience..the woman in question was on the podium behind him and organising the event. Actual questions about his work or furthering it in some way were shut down - and very rudely when not on mic. He has been questioned on Mumsnet (probably in "feminism" but I can't remember), with details about his wife shared in an attempt to discredit him. I see similarities in the arrogance of him and JT, I see similarities in their treatment online and similarities in the reverence with which some people refer to them. I see similarities in how they are shaking things up in relation to understanding trauma symptoms. I do not think JT is being treated differently in this thread.

1. I notice that with social media personalities, SM is both part of their job and identity. This exacerbates the "sting" of criticism about their work, because their whole identity is very publicly tied up with their income stream. I wonder if this is something that also applies to JT.

On your point 2, I found the famous book you refer to excellent, but it does strike me that in Eastern traditions, practitioners knew the body and mind were connected 5,000 years ago, taught about link between gut and immune system. And now Western medicine is "proving" what ayurveda and yogi practitioners were taught all along! Disappointing but not surprising he's an arse though! I can't talk about JT's work cos I've not read her, but in my experience therapy, medication and CBT approaches have made little to no difference to my mental health - I'm in a process of personally working out whether I should accept therapy has no answers for me, or if I should find another one and have another go. Therapy feels weird- even when the therapist is a warm person, I feel like you go in, absolutely bare your soul, and what you get back is worksheets...maybe reading a book for myself would just as beneficial? I suppose my question is overall, is therapy beneficial or as a culture do we have an unrealistic expectation about what it can do? Are more people leaving therapy underwhelmed or harmed, than people who felt the benefits?

@ChameFangeNail

I think it's highly unlikely that Jessica has published women's stories without their permission in a book by a major publisher. She's not stupid and neither are they

It’s precisely because she’s not stupid that she’ll know she absolutely can use this woman’s and there’s very little anyone can do about it. Unless the woman wants to crowdfund a hundred grand to litigate against JT in the civil courts, all JT has to do is deny it hard enough and wait for it to blow over.

It's not just about court though, is it? It's about reputation.

Why would Jessica publish someone's words without their permission when it's so obvious it'd come back to bite her?

I really don't think she's that stupid, no matter what you think of her otherwise. It's really basic stuff.

I have seen JH post warning about individuals and situations she has never met or had any contact or experience of . Absolute gossip and lies. She has form for it . Another woman here who feels that this thread has a horrible tone to it. Classist .