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The Rise of Therapy Apps
0:10Therapy apps are everywhere. Marketing
0:12for services like Growth Therapy and
0:14Talkspace on YouTube and podcasting
0:16platforms have exploded over the last
0:18few years, offering virtual on-demand
0:21therapy.
0:22But why is this happening?
0:24For anyone paying attention, it's clear
0:25that young people, especially young men,
0:27are struggling. Many today are anxious
0:30and lonely, searching for meaning,
0:31direction, purpose, anything. Whether
0:34they know it or not, they're looking for
0:35someone who can help them figure out
0:37life.
0:39But every generation has faced hardship.
0:41Previous generations suffered wars,
0:42economic collapse, disease, and personal
0:44tragedy on a scale that most will never
0:46experience.
0:48And they didn't have on-demand therapy
0:49apps to talk through their problems
0:51with. Instead, they relied on something
The Lost Art of Formation
0:53quite different.
0:55Enter Virgil in Dante's Divine Comedy,
0:57the guide for the author through the
0:59hellscape of Inferno, the toils of
1:01Purgatorio, and the bliss of Paradiso.
1:04He plays the part of the wise mentor,
1:06the teacher to our lost protagonist.
1:08Virgil exemplifies what it means to
1:10guide another man in a way that has
1:12almost entirely disappeared from modern
1:14life.
1:15For most of history, guidance was built
1:17into ordinary life because past
1:19societies understood that young men
1:20didn't simply mature on their own.
1:23People need intentional formation to
1:25fully develop.
1:27In ancient societies, young men were
1:29often expected to undergo some form of
1:31initiation right, maybe a big game hunt
1:33or spiritual ceremony that tested them
1:36and marked a transition from dependence
1:38into service and leadership.
1:40These rights ensured future leaders of
1:42the tribe or village were up to the
1:43challenges of the times and deemed
1:45worthy of responsibility.
1:48This knowledge that maturity was
1:49cultivated shaped nearly every major
1:51institution of the past. Because many
1:54craftsmen couldn't read or write for
1:55much of history, learning was passed
1:57down from master to apprentice through
1:59training on the job.
2:01With that close relationship naturally
2:03came a regular demonstration of the
2:05habits and virtues required for that
2:07trade: patience, discipline, honesty,
2:10and responsibility.
2:12The goal extended beyond producing just
2:13another skilled blacksmith, but
2:15eventually a trustworthy master capable
2:18of leading a new generation of
2:19blacksmiths for service to town and
2:21country.
2:22The apprentice was learning how to
2:24accept responsibility.
2:27Religious education operated with a
2:29similar emphasis on character formation.
2:31Churches and religious schools, with
2:33early 20th century Jewish and Catholic
2:35schools as prime examples, didn't make
2:37the transfer of information the first
2:39aim. They prioritized the formation of
2:41the conscience informed by long
2:43traditions in Jewish and Catholic
2:44culture.
2:46Scripture, theology, philosophy, and the
2:48lives of the prophets and saints
2:50provided models of virtue and examples
2:51of lives ordered toward a higher
2:53purpose.
2:55The young student wasn't left on an
2:56island to invent his own concept of
2:58goodness.
2:59He inherited a vision of what a rightly
3:01ordered life looked like from a
3:03long-standing tradition.
3:05Even among the upper classes,
3:07intentional formation was built into the
3:09culture. The Grand Tour, undertaken by
3:11many young European gentlemen from the
3:1317th through the 19th centuries, was
3:15designed as an education in civilization
3:18at large.
3:19When young men traveled through Rome,
3:21Vienna, and Florence, they gained
3:23exposure to art, history, and politics,
3:25and the achievements of other peoples.
3:27They returned more cultivated, matured,
3:29and independent, ready to take up the
3:31multifaceted duties of Europe's finest
3:33families.
What Does It Mean to Become a Good Man?
3:35All of these educational experiences
3:37promoted a common vision of the
3:38actualized human person.
3:40Western societies, particularly those
3:42shaped by Christianity, had a more
3:43coherent answer on what maturity meant.
3:46A good man was not simply someone who
3:48achieved personal satisfaction, but
3:50rather someone who practiced virtue,
3:51fulfilled obligations, served others,
3:54and oriented their life toward the
3:55highest good.
3:57Modern societies have gained many
3:59things, including greater freedom and
4:00opportunity. But we have become far less
4:03aware of the need for intentional
4:04formation and how to go about it,
4:06especially for young men who often enter
4:09adulthood without clear expectations,
4:11meaningful responsibilities, and
4:13personal examples to imitate.
4:15We're very good at helping people
4:16acquire skills, pursue material needs,
4:19and manage symptoms of problems. But we
4:21are much less certain about how to form
4:23people capable of wisdom, virtue, and
4:25purpose.
4:27This older understanding of guidance is
4:29what Dante places at the center of the
4:31Divine Comedy, and it precludes the need
4:33for therapy in the first place.
4:35Therapy is the rescue operation when
4:37things have gone awry. Mendorship and
4:39formation are the way we, throughout our
4:41lives, gain the wisdom and virtues
4:43necessary to avoid falling into mental
4:46roadblocks, sins, and personal problems
4:48that require therapy.
4:50Now, I'm not saying that therapy is bad
4:52or that it's unhelpful or even
4:54unnecessary for some people and
4:55situations. But the whole industry of
4:57therapy is an avoidable fact in a
4:59culture of proper formation.
5:02Dante understood the need for guidance
Dante and the Dark Wood
5:04as inherent to living well. His Divine
5:06Comedy, Inferno specifically, begins
5:09with an admission, a midlife crisis,
5:11that he has lost his way.
5:13He writes, quote, "Midway upon the
5:15journey of our life, I found myself in a
5:17dark wood where the right way was lost."
5:20Most young men today aren't necessarily
5:22lacking intelligence or ability. Like
5:25Dante walking dazed in a wood, they're
5:27lacking a direction. They have ambition
5:29and potential, but little vision of what
5:31to use those gifts for. Dante doesn't
5:33discover the way himself, nor does he
5:35soon discover the right way through
5:37introspection, or as we might say today,
5:39by finding himself. No, he must be led
5:42by a guide, and that person is the great
Why Dante Needed Virgil
5:44Latin poet Virgil.
5:47It might seem odd that a poet becomes
5:48the guide to Dante, but the poets of
5:50antiquity were not only well respected
5:52because of their mastery over language,
5:54but because through beautiful language
5:56they could convey truths about the world
5:58and interior life.
5:59At the end of the day, the best poets
6:01are really philosophers.
6:03But Virgil was given a special place in
6:05the medieval Christian world. Chaucer
6:07described Virgil's prominence as, quote,
6:09"on a pillar that was of bright
6:11tin-plated iron."
6:13To many medieval scholars, he was
6:14thought of as a kind of pre-Christian
6:16prophet or an inspired pagan, more like
6:18a Hebrew figure of the Old Testament
6:20than as a Greek or Roman polytheist. And
6:23so, Virgil is Dante's guide for much of
6:25his journey because he is the
6:26heaven-oriented torchbearer of earthly
6:28wisdom, a familiar guide to both the
6:30non-Christian and Christian worlds.
6:33But more personally, Dante credits
6:34Virgil as his door to a deeper
6:36understanding of not only the art of
6:38poetry, but of the beauty of
6:40Christianity, saying to him, quote,
6:43"Thou art alone the one from whom I took
6:45the beautiful style that has done honor
6:47to me."
6:48Dante understands Virgil as more than a
6:50poet. The great poet is his guide and
6:52moral instructor, teaching him how to
6:55see reality correctly, just as great
6:57poetry captures reality more viscerally
6:59than prose.
7:01As the two descend through the circles
7:02of hell, Dante often misunderstands the
7:04dismal scenes he encounters.
7:07He, recognizing many faces and names,
7:09often feels anger toward infamous
7:10individuals and confusion about
7:12particular punishments.
7:14Virgil corrects his understanding,
7:16showing him that hell's response to the
7:17sinner is always in alignment with
7:19ultimate justice.
7:21Sins that appeared attractive on earth
7:22are revealed in their fullness as
7:24ultimately hideous and destructive.
7:27The spiritual reality of the world is
7:28revealed in Dante's journey, and Virgil
7:30is essential to interpret and safely
7:32guide him through dangers.
The Divine Comedy as an Examination of Conscience
7:35This is what makes The Divine Comedy a
7:36profound examination of conscience. It's
7:38a tour through the darkest vices of
7:40humanity and their just correction.
7:43Each circle of hell reveals a different
7:45way human beings can distort their
7:46desires.
7:48Virgil's goal as a guide is a true
7:50understanding of the nature and gravity
7:52of sin, so that Dante ultimately becomes
7:54equipped to choose paradise.
7:56And unfortunately, many of us don't have
7:58that Virgil in our lives.
Where Are Our Guides?
8:01Society's missing true guides today,
8:03people who don't merely affirm our
8:04feelings and console us so that we feel
8:06better about our situation.
8:08A true mentor does something much
8:09harder. He challenges us to rise and to
8:12become who we should be.
8:14This, of course, requires first that
8:16mentors have life figured out in the
8:17first place. Your guide in life can't be
8:19someone who's already struggling with
8:21basic living and meaning.
8:23Only from the wisdom of a good teacher
8:24living out their own prescriptions will
8:26you be formed into a confident, mature,
8:28and virtuous person.
8:30The best guides, then, point you to
8:31rightly ordering your loves toward what
8:33is good.
8:35The problems that we turn to therapists
8:36for can't be fully healed while leaving
8:38the ultimate quest for moral living out
8:40of it.
8:42Virgil leads Dante through this
8:43recognition of the many sins that lead
8:45people to the deepest rings of Inferno,
8:47and also through the struggles of those
8:49working their way up the mountain in
8:50Purgatorio.
8:52But the mentor-mentee relationship of
8:54Virgil to Dante only works because they
8:56share a common morality.
8:58Anyone telling you how you should live
9:00your life ultimately must work within
9:01some value system. And if they don't
9:03align, I'm skeptical about how well the
9:05outcome can really be.
9:07In these modern online therapy apps,
9:09most of the time you're probably talking
9:11to someone you may not share fundamental
9:12values with. And that's a basic problem.
The Danger of False Mentors
9:16However, even worse than having no
9:17mentor or having only a superficial
9:19mentor is having a bad one.
9:22Dante goes on in the Divine Comedy to
9:24contrast the good leader in Virgil
9:26against some of the deepest rings of
9:27hell in the Malebolge, the eighth circle
9:30of hell.
9:31This is where the fraudulent counselors
9:33rest. Here Dante warns about the dangers
9:35of false guides, those who lead others
9:38to destruction and evil. The subtext is
9:40that there's an immense moral
9:42responsibility on anyone who shapes
9:44others.
9:45Jesus himself made this explicit when he
9:47talked about the just punishment for
9:48those who lead children astray, as
9:50written in Matthew. Quote, "If any of
9:53you put a stumbling block before any of
9:55these little ones who believe in me, it
9:57would be better for you if a great
9:59millstone were fastened around your neck
10:00and you were drowned in the depths of
10:02the sea."
10:03To presume the wisdom to counsel or
10:05guide another's formation is a big
10:07responsibility.
10:09Now, today's guides come in many forms:
10:11parents, priests, pastors, spiritual
10:13directors, teachers, but also
10:15celebrities and increasingly online
10:18influencers.
10:20Unfortunately, YouTube, X, Instagram,
10:22and the like have become the majority of
10:23what many people watch, listen, and read
10:25in modern culture.
10:27And hence, perhaps the biggest
10:28influences on people's thoughts and
10:30actions.
10:31Many may indeed point you to the higher
10:33things as we try to.
10:35But many online influencers are
10:36negative, petty, and poisonous. Many of
10:38them offer status and pretended
10:40masculinity in place of virtue.
10:43And those should be cut out. Dante's
10:45warning to these various teachers is to
10:46lead those whom you influence to what is
10:48true, virtuous, and wise, or else you
10:50risk punishment for leading others
10:52astray with a very nasty existence in
10:54the Malebolge.
10:56And likewise, to the one seeking
10:57formation from a guide in life, be
10:59careful who you choose to avoid being
11:01led down into Dante's Inferno, too. Now,
11:03we don't have to dismiss therapy
11:05altogether, as there are many times in
Why Therapy Can't Replace Mentorship
11:06life when professional help may be the
11:08only viable path for someone.
11:11And I'm sure there are many responsible
11:12and well-formed therapists out there.
11:14And it can be a valuable stopgap at
11:16times. But therapy itself can't replace
11:18a civilization's ecosystem of
11:20mentorship, its fundamental means of
11:22transmitting wisdom from generation to
11:24generation. As many of our institutions
11:26have weakened, we've developed a
11:27regrettable need for the therapist in
11:29lieu of the mentor.
11:31The Western world flourished partly
11:33because it cultivated societies in which
11:35guidance was distributed across
11:36families, churches, schools,
11:38neighborhoods, friendships, and great
11:40books.
11:41Young people encountered examples of
11:43wisdom and virtue long before they found
11:44themselves in a desperate crisis.
11:47We're formed through relationships with
11:49parents, teachers, mentors, faithful
11:51friends, and for Christians, ultimately
11:53through Christ himself. For many people
11:55today, especially young men, many of
11:57those relationships are gone.
11:59The challenge is bigger than any therapy
12:01app can hope to solve. It's recovering a
12:04culture that produces more Virgils, more
12:06wise teachers, more people who know good
12:08from evil, and more men to lead our
12:10young men to a good life.
12:12The solution begins in reestablishing
Rebuilding a Culture of Formation
12:14our ordinary relationships.
12:17We need parents and teachers to
12:18prioritize raising children in virtue,
12:20and mature adults must at last take up
12:22the responsibilities that befit them.
12:24Churches must call for their
12:26congregations to live in holiness. It's
12:28also time for older men and women to
12:29invest their wisdom in those just
12:31finding their way in life.
12:33Even many great books can continue to
12:35serve as formative guides if anyone will
12:37read them.
12:38Those notable books of the Western canon
12:40invite us into conversation with minds
12:42that have wrestled with the same
12:43questions for centuries.
12:45The rise of therapy as an on-demand
12:47service says a lot about where our
12:48society is today.
12:50We've created a large supply of
12:51therapists, influencers, and life
12:53coaches, but very few Virgils.
12:56Now, if we want happier young men, we
12:58don't find the answers in another app.
13:00We'll have to become the kinds of
13:01parents, teachers, and friends who will
13:03walk with them through the dark wood
13:05before they ever need to reach out
13:07through an app in desperation.
13:09The dream is a culture that can't
13:10support an industry of therapy because
13:13so many people will have been well
13:14formed and confident through life's
13:16greatest difficulties.
13:17But we can only do that if we invest
13:19across generations and do the work to
13:21produce an army of wise teachers and
13:23mentors.
13:27Thanks for watching this video. Give
13:28this video a like and subscribe if you
13:30enjoyed this content. And if you want to
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13:36where we offer in-depth essays on
13:37history, religion, and culture.
13:40I'm Christian from Thinking West. Until
13:42next time.