Teal Swan | Mental Health Revolutionary? 

I have a lot of crazy woo woo beliefs, but one of them is to not trust anyone who sets themselves up as a guru, angel, alien etc.

People always believe they are reincarnated from a princess or guru or warrior but never a toothless caveman or even a skunk or wort hog.

Honestly I feel like people who hate her for her suicide video have never been suicidal. I genuinely needed someone to validate my suicidal feelings as something that is ok to feel, and for the first time in my life I felt like I am not a failure of a human being for feeling suicidal when I watched that video. Suicide is hard to deal with on it's own and most people meet it with either disdain, shock or judgement which isn't helping. I don't know much about her as a person, all that crystal angel astral projection stuff, but her mental health advice is extremly helpful, at least for me.

I roll my eyes every time I hear someone go on and on about how they're an empath,

Part of the fun of Dr. Grande's videos are the sick burns in his calm, collected voice.

I have the impression that sometimes Dr Grande barely restrained laughter

Hilarious. Thank you. 😂👏🏼 spiritual narcissism is so disturbingly pervasive right now.

A friend raves about Teal Swan and wanted me to watch her “S” videos. I decided to watch your Teal review first. Hearing what you said she said is disturbing. When asked in an interview if she felt in any way responsible for 5 of her followers “Ss” Teal laughed before answering, “Not at all” and smiled throughout. Thanks for the warning about this dangerous woman.

If suicide is a “reset button,” I’ll just leave the settings on “continue play.” No Matter how difficult life has become, I want to live it!

Even if she is all the bad things you think she is, I have been watching all her videos for about 3 years now and she has helped me mentally, spiritually and psychologically more than any official therapist / psychologist (or religion) ever has. Might I add for free (through her plethora of free RU-vid videos and other free content). Note; I had to pay my therapist and they didn’t change my life for the better like she has. I have never given her any money. She gives us hundreds (maybe even thousands) of free informational videos. She never asks for money on them (like many other people do). Everything she says makes sense to me and seems completely applicable and correct from what I’ve seen and experienced in my life. Not only is she psychological but she is also spiritual and that is what I like about her. It’s not just clinical. I love her. I feel she has saved my life. She has made me a much better person too. I’m more aware, more kind, more patient, more understanding, and more peaceful because of her free teachings. She always makes me feel better, yet she doesn’t sugar coat things or bottle feed you a bunch of fluff. I like that she isn’t bound by any books or legalities that psychologist and psychiatrist are bound by. She’s a genius as far as im concerned, and I don’t say that lightly. I don’t think that with hardly anyone in my life. I never felt this well with a single therapist or psychologist that I’ve ever seen. That’s my experience. She has a video for literally everything I’ve ever needed. That’s rare. I think she is amazing. Deep down I feel she is a good person as well.

She seemed a little weird to me too, in the beginning. But to say the truth, her videos have helped me a lot of help in my own healing journey.

Teal has captured the ability to piss in people's pockets and convince them that it is raining. Now that is a talent in and of itself.

I use to watch her videos 10 years ago after a friend suggested them. I found her captivating but somehow she felt "wrong". Something really creeped me out and scared me about her. I unsubscribed and warned my friend to be careful. She has a very "dark" feeling about her.

"I feel like buying a planet would be more appropriate for her, since she is... half... alien..." LOL. Man, I am LOVING the Dr Grande zingers lately.

Dr. Grande, could you talk about L. Ron Hubbard and his “mental health discoveries” that he presented, and were subsequently rejected from mainstream accepted mental health clinicians? This rejection caused him to vilify all of the mental heath community, and was the source for Scientology’s rejection of Psychiatry still to this day.

Thank you for addressing this and pointing out the contradictions in her philosophy. People are easily deceived.

'Suicide equals a resetbutton...' ?? Such a highly dangerous statement. As someone who has been a few times on a suicidal breaking point, I am more than grateful for never meeting a person like her who infiltred my already fearful and lost mindset in these moments with bs like that.

Its weird cause in my teenage years I used to be suicidal depressed and extremely confused... I started going to a psychiatrist was given strong medication was doing the sessions but I only got worse and worse... My psychiatrist had told my mum that I'd probably never be able to work again and what was happening to me was unfixable... I started listening to teal swan after some years of serious issues and actually found her to be kinda genius... I stopped the medication and the sessions I did work on my self by my self and her advice and I felt my mind clearing up so much I started seeing other people and situations so much more clearly and I did find a job I still have made a lot of friends and all and all things are just running smoothly... Not perfectly obviously... Also when I hear you talk about her I get the impression that you have just a vary surface idea of her methods and also the spiritual movement overall... Which I'll agree can contain a lot of shit and misinformation but if you go deep into it and with a critical mind not just following "spiritual teachers" like a mindless sheep you can actually get a lot of value out of it.

She honestly helped me immensely, I used to be a meth addicted, homeless bum 2 years ago, I suffered with bipolar disorder for 13 years before then and attempted suicide several times in my life. I then had a spiritual awakening after one where I came back. I came across her and she has helped me in so many ways, sure she may make some out there claims but until I followed her suggestions on depression and suicide I was still in that pain. Now I have a fullness of life and finally understand why my life matters and value myself and others. Instead of looking at these negatives it's important to realize a lot of her suggestions and teachings do have merit. It's good to be cautious but not to the point where we put ourselves into a box and reject the positive. Psychology and psychiatry never provides me the help for my issues in all the years I lived until I started on a spiritual path and really faced my inner self and unmasked my false beliefs and past, only by turning toward my pain. I finally find meaning in life, am making positive changes, taking responsibility, behavior and thought changes, and also healing myself and treating others with respect, love, empathy, and concern. She helped in that, I don't mean to say I agree 100% or that she is perfect but I do know that from personal experience the changes have also come with her help, it helped me understand and see through my ego and become better. That's what matters.

Somehow my narcissist alarm went off when you started listing her self-proclaimed out of this world traits and skills. Come on, give me a break! 😂

Teal found out that the universe was all about her, and she was completely humbled by this realization.

I've been following Teal for a few years now and find her teachings to be helpful and interesting. In fact, her videos helped me get through my deep dark depression and fear of death and were also what initiated my journey into conventional therapy. I often find there to be parallels in her teachings and what I learn in therapy. She's definitely a little out there but I take the weird with the good 😁

A long time ago I was on Teal's mailing list. One day a message came that she was looking for an assistant, and she outlined the highest requirements. After this list, she said that the job was an unpaid position because working with her would be its own reward.

I worked for her publishing company before they published her and I told them all her problematic behaviors and they didn't care.

In my experience so far from her channel...I've learned about emotions and how to identify them, about feelings in the body, about trust, love, emotional safety...I learned about depression and the root of sadness...the ideas and perspectives she shares have supported me in learning about myself. I learned about relationships and the elements that create emotional safety. Since then I bring awareness to myself in a new way. She teaches in a way that empowers yourself. To follow your own intuition and have responsibility for your actions. I don't tolerate toxic relationships anymore. I have more compassion for others. I understand where people's pain comes from. I feel more connected to other people more than I have in my entire life. I realize if I hurt someone else, I am only hurting myself. I have hope now that people can heal because she helps you understand the root of trauma and disorders.

I love Teal Swan so much. Her teachings have helped me immensely. She has helped me deal with and understand my emotions better, cope with life better and helped me find more acceptance and love for myself.

I've been watching the show on Hulu and my mind is blown. The way she talks to people! She, in NO WAY, seems like a happy or peaceful individual. She seems scared, paranoid, abrasive, and completely non-empathetic. Like most narcissists, she is simply telling (accusing) others that they are fucked up and they need to kill their ego (all things she needs to hear). She tells others that they need someone to check them, but then says that she needs no one to check her. In fact she gets EXTREMELY upset when someone asks her "who do you go to? Who checks you?"... You would've thought that man slapped her across the face. Her grandiose ideas, force feeding others to just accept what she has to say, etc... Even trying to control her ex and making him feel bad for dating someone else. She has to be number one. She forces people to cut off their families. She's evil....

I discovered Teal Swan almost a year ago during a vulnerable time, watched about 3 or 4 times, got a good laugh at her and decided I have even more common sense than she does, don't need her kind of "help"

The chefs training the astronauts on a healthy diet so they could fly a spaceship was a great analogy, you sir have me as a subscriber!

My advice is to actually watch and listen to her content because a lot of these claims are misinterpreted and misinformation. A lot of people who assume things of Teal Swan haven’t even watched a minute of her content. And no... she does not promote suicide 🤦‍♀️

I watched a lot of Teal Swan's videos lately. I made breakthroughs that my therapist couldn't help me with. I never heard of most of the weird stuff that Dr. Todd Grande claimed that she says. She doesn't try to push her paid services the same way I've seen other field experts do. Some of her ideas does contradict the other self-help or spiritual ideas that I've encountered. Does that make her a revolutionary? To me, it doesn't matter. I don't need to know everything about her to get value from her. What I cared about was: Did a lot of her information help me? Yes. And I don't consider her a guru or a God. She's just a human with insight that I specifically needed. I don't watch everything she makes either, I just learn what I need and don't feel any pressure to watch every single thing she has. So to anyone reading this, if you *need* the information that Teal Swan has, then it's okay to find her information valuable. If you don't need it, just because you personally don't find value in it doesn't mean it's not valuable to other people.

On my journey of spirituality in high school I found her on RU-vid and loved her videos so much I felt like she opened my mind and helped me take those first steps so I am grateful for that HOWEVER once I saw the prices for her retreats alarms went off, as I matured and as her videos got more grandiose and vain I stopped watching. Great analysis.

I gave Teal Swan’s channel a listen a few years ago when it popped up on my RU-vid recommendations and all my brain kept saying was “What the...???!!!”. Excellent video. 💗💖💗

“ One of the methodologies she doesn’t fit in with would be the scientific method. “ 🤣🤣🤣

This woman has helped me immensely to discover inner child work/shadow work. I have to thank her for that. But the more I see on her, the more I’m happy I didn’t delve much more into her material. I am so thankful though that she exposed me into healing that inside voice in my head that used to be very self loathing, and morose. I can speak to myself more kindly and if I start saying horrible things to myself in my head, I snap at myself like I would to a bully who is being mean to my friend. She helped me begin the spiritual rabbit hole, but I know not to follow up with anymore of her material.

My thoughts exactly. I wasn't expecting to find a video here about this woman but you just articulated exactly what I already thought of her. I came across one of her videos, a few months ago, and got the same disturbing sensation. I even left a comment complaining about her nonsense and my waste of time. Apparently many many people don't think like we do, don't see through her, that's both depressing and worrisome. I guess it comes down to people lacking critical thinking.

I see from the comments that in the last 24 hours or so, her following must have heard about your less than positive take on Swan. :)

I swear Dr. Grande is like an undercover comedian...how does he say the funniest things with a straight face and such serious demeanor! The part where he suggested Teal Swan buy a planet had me dying😂😂😂😂

She has always made me roll my eyes…especially because of her self-importance vibe. She/her message is dangerous.

There is a whole raft of unusual "teachers" who claim to be "ascended beings", "astral voyagers", and "interstellar saviors". They seem to have sizable bank accounts, too.

I was in Teal swans cult until I met her. She was rude and nasty. Oddly enough....i'm greatful I met her, otherwise I could still be in the cult. In fact she put me off everything new age.

I just saw the documentary on FreeForm. I used to follow her but yeah she’s definitely a cult leader. Narcissistic and dangerous. She’s treating people for emotional issues without any training! How is that ok?? She should be sued and completely shut down.

I once watched a Teal Swan video, before I really knew anything about her. The thing that struck me forcefully was the arrogance, vanity, and coldness she radiated. Nothing I have learned since has changed that first impression.

If someone claims to be a savior, but requires you give them money, they're a con-artist

The woman's vibe is wrong...she's allowed to preach & she follows a strict agenda! Stay woke, people! Thank you Doc! Great video, as usual ❤️🥂

I believe so much of this is taken out of context. That said, I don't think her methods are for everyone. She has really helped me in my journey through life though. I have never felt forced into agreeing with her. I take what helps me. I still appreciate your analysis.

Please, take caution with anyone that makes claims about having powers or claims of being above humans. This is a clear sign of a disconnection from reality Thank you for the lovely video and your relentless push to inform the public Much 🧡 to you Dr

She's a narcissist. And delusional and very controlling. Very dangerous woman .I agree with Dr. Grand's character analysis.

As a counsellor who treats clients with suicidal ideation or even previous attempts these statements Teal Swan makes are dangerous and undermines the process of healing and learning. People who commit or attempt to commit suicide do not usually do it with altruistic motives. Most of them wish to end their pain and know no other way and is simply overwhelmed and mentally overloaded. Everyone deserves a chance to live life the best they possibly can.

I certainly recommend you watch Telltale's videos on Teal Swan, she's closer to a cult leader than genuinely inspired by Jung's work.

Teal never said she is perfect. After all she is still a human being who has suffered so much during her childhood. But to reject her work and what she so far has helped so many people to recover from pain is so unfair for her.

Listening to your daily videos with morning coffee is my “spiritual catalyst”

How do you manage to keep a straight face when covering people like her? Is it multiple takes?

"I feel like buying a planet would be more appropriate for her. After all she is half alien." Better make it Neptune, the coldest planet in the solar system, to cool off that massive burn!! 😂🤣

I appreciate you doing this Dr. I used to be a part of her online community and have left. Thanks for your work. A few years ago I came across your work and was skeptical I must admit. Now I appreciate it. Best regards✌🏼

"She makes a good initial impression." (she's attractive). "But after listening to her for a second, she makes no sense. I really find it a struggle to listen to her talk." Superficial charm that lasts mere seconds.

If people claim to be an alien or incarnated guru, we can’t never figure it out! That’s why I trust only my gut feeling and it was and is not a good one by her. She is doing the same manipulate behavior techniques, she experienced by herself as a child. She was a victim and now she is a perpetrator.

All the trauma I experienced in life , was after the age of 8. Getting kidnapped and beaten up and various other things someone inflicted on me , had zero to do with my childhood lol. It was just due to being unfortunate that person appeared in my life. And the trauma was very real ! I’m sure adults who went through war zones , rapes and other bad things would also tell you their trauma is real and nothing to do with before being 8 years old

The other day, I watched all the “exit interviews” from the Heaven’s Gate Away Team”. After that, I am convinced that there is no limit to what people will believe, even from the strangest people.

I find this evaluation of Teal very strange. Her videos are incredibly insightful and free. She is not demanding money from anyone. She is offering a wealth of knowledge that really has the potential to transform yourself as well as society. She has opened my eyes and heightened my level of awareness on so many levels. I am so very grateful to have found her. Her lessons do not contradict themselves and are transformative. This man reviewing her seems more threatened by her than anything. I have never heard her "toot her own horn" in her videos. Her lessons are incredibly educational, and again, they are free... every week... free. Let me re-iterate, since this Dr. did so many times, THEY ARE FREE!

Some of her videos i find helpful, the "lighter" self help ones, though admittedly there are a huge range of these same type videos out there by other RU-vidrs. The "alien starseed"/open third eye/dimensional beings" ones i take with a grain of salt.

I'm a psychologist and I was happy too see that you immediately commented on the 170 IQ nonsense. I'm surprised she kept it so low. Usually these narcissists will claim an IQ of 250 or something just as impossible.

She is a hybrid between Jim Jones and Ron Hubbard. The only thing missing is the Kool Aid 🙄

To be honest, you don't need to be as "special" as Teal Swan seems to claim the right to critique the mental health system paradigm as it is. Yes that is a reasonable word to describe the mental health "industry". Lots of highly qualified philosophers and people who have worked in this "industry" are critical of DSMV, including doctors. But she is not one of them. Would be great if you tested confirmation bias and presented that there are different approaches to mental health care, that are not as off the chart as this individual.

There’s so much collective trauma and poor mental health brought on by our culture and society that people are desperate for help and heroes, even if the heroes defy logic and take advantage of them.

Brilliant and accurate analysis! I started listening to her and then my gut said “ RUN”!!! I’m sticking with my old boring mental health team with their degrees!!! Thanks Dr. Grande!

At 7:50; "I feel like buying a planet would be appropriate for her..." I lost my composure and laughed HARD at this opinion of yours. It was difficult to hear the remainder of your video because of it! You have a great talent for deadpan humor that is directly on target! 🤣👍

I used to listen to her every once in awhile but after awhile I could tell something about her just doesn't seem right.

I have never even heard of this person. I must be living under a rock.

Anyone that calls themself a guru a god or put some self in a place of authority like that is never to be trusted

“I think buying a planet would be more appropriate for her, after all she is half alien.” 😂😂😂😂 Thank you addressing this Dr. Grande. This woman can potentially be quite harmful to some people. Her narrative is just utter nonsense! Thank you again and I hope you are enjoying your weekend:) 🇺🇸

I remember that one interview she did with her ex bf (the french guy) and he slipped and said that she ate cheese after she was talking about being vegan, and she visibly got so annoyed that he told ppl that she occasionally ate cheese. If she is that stringent about maintaining her image and lying about cheese, such a small detail, it makes me wonder what else she hides from the public that could be bigger. Just intuitively for me, she seems like she is someone who could have a crazy bad temper and fly off the handle from time to time. She just has that vibe in my opinion.

Thank god I found you. I just watched one about depression....i have cptsd and very weak through an anxiety attack. She was saying about meds not helping etc didn't make any sense and then to say it's not a chemical imbalance. It's so dangerous to vulnerable people who are already at a low time to tell them their medication that's meant to help...doesn't. I hope no one's had trouble by binning theirs and suddenly stopping. Dangerous woman.

This is interesting. I’ve watched a few of her videos but was unaware of all these claims apart from her saying she was abused by a cult as a child. I too find her hard to listen to, but not because of her content- she speaks in quite a monotone and has minimal expression which tends to make me drift off (incidentally, these could be indicators of Autistic Spectrum which frequently comes with identity issues which might account for the alien claims). I have found some of her videos to be extremely insightful. I think we, as clinicians, sometimes need to remember that the psychology/psychiatry/ sociology based helping professions are all Johnny-come-latelies and that philosophers, mystics and priests have been guiding people for significantly longer than we have with our meta- medical models. Having said this, you have clearly researched TS in some depth and know much more about her than I do, so I’m not making a case in her favour; more speaking about the possibility of useful and helpful information on mental health coming from a variety of sources, not just the scientific.

She can see into the future and didn’t warn us about 2020, come on!

Great analysis! I watched the documentary and felt she was a very disturbed person who turns quickly on anyone who slightly challenges her. Thank you for summing this up so succinctly.

Only if someone has some real thoughts on it: Despite the weird stuff that she says about aliens and dimensions, doesn't she give out helpful information as well? Like the importance of loving yourself, healing your traumas, being aware of your social conditioning, listening to your needs, integrating your shadow aspects... I think she makes some fair points as well. And she is not aversed to science... This was kind of misportrayed in this video. She thinks science is really important, but not the only way to make sense of the world. And she claims that with her extra-sensory abilities she is able to take in more information than possible with conventional science or senses. Also she does not claim to read minds, but because of her extra-sensory ability to perceive different energy wavelengths (it's a scientific fact that some people are able to perceive a wider spectrum of light actually), she can see what emotional state people are in because of the energy they are emitting. This was a very superficial and slightly wrong portray and did not help me come to any conclusion. Immediately judging and ridiculing something because it sounds unlikely is neither smart, nor scientific in any way. It's just ignorant. If someone has any smart thoughts on it, feel free to share. If you just want to make fun, do it in the rest of comment section like all of the other comments.

You know it’s bad when Dr Grande says it’s difficult to listen to that person for more than a few minutes

Dr. Grande please do an analysis of Ralph Smart (Infinite Waters). He's friends with Teal Swan, and he sets off red flags on my personal bs meter. "Can I get a hellooooo, there!" He says that every time he thinks he's made a profound statement.

I think she is very genuine and means to prevent suffering. It is easy to criticise what we don't understand but she is attempting to make a better world. It is time.

I fell for her nonsense during a manic episode and had a psychotic break when everything she said made sense to me all of a sudden. I believe she believes she is doing the right thing and thinks she is all that she says she is. But nah.

If you were a Rapper, you’d have so many Diss Tracks.

Dr. Grande, you are the best. I have been following you since I began my MSW, and I find your videos very unbiased and informative. :) :)

I clicked on a RU-vid video of hers and within seconds, the hair on the back of my neck was standing up telling me to stay away from her. I was completely creeped out by her. My somatic warning system concurs with your assessment of her intentions.

I used to love Teal and was even on stage with her. I was in a very vulnerable place . So happy I recovered well from her cult.

I’ve listened to a lot of her work, never bought anything, took the tid bits of knowledge that I needed to hear and applied them and am appreciative of her work. Does she have some narcissistic traits, yes, but many empaths DO have narcissistic traits but I do not hold that against her. When you are on the spiritual journey and path, many times it involves healing from past wounds. I believe most who heal themselves consult with many types of spiritual, religious and psychological experts and piece together what works for them. To tell you the truth in what I have seen in my varied search through all these teachers is that Dr. Grande’s analysis has been quite different from my own assessment of the person many times. I still listen to further shape what my OWN thoughts are on the person.

I literally just came across one of her videos that offered guided meditations. I'm so glad that below her video was this vid... your video...she is DANGEROUS!!! I felt there was something strange about her and her presence. THANK YOU Doc.

Its always important to listen to the STORY people tell themselves. She has a way of directive thinking... she will make a suggestion of Trauma and then tell you people react in this way because of that and that... directive thinking. If you think for yourself you will immediately understand the dialog. I never thought of her as a cult, however the Guru industry is a self proclaimed occult. People are lost because they don't know how to think for themselves.

Teal Swan is a grifter.

She came up in my shorts feed a couple months ago. She seemed interesting at first, and I thought maybe she was an M. D. or PhD. Then the more clips I saw, I just got a weird feeling. So I did a web search and the suicide stuff was an obvious, neon-red flag. The more I hear, the more I am glad folks like Dr. Grande are there to confirm that I am getting a whiff of Hubbard and Joseph Smith.🙄

I was delighted to see you pop up in episode one of the new Hulu Teal Swan documentary. I immediately searched for this video and, as always, thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope that you’ll share your thoughts about the series.

I like Teal!!! She helps me a lot. In her video, I have not heard anything like what you are talking about Doctor 👨‍⚕️ Besides, “Be open to everything but attached to nothing!”

Within the thoughts of Teal Swan I feel her information is very important. She's confident within herself because shes opened her eyes to greater things. Everything we are going through on this planet is irrelevant. Knowledge in my perception is irrelevant. For this planet to survive all we really need is eachother, not the things we've "created" to become lazy & not see ourselves the way the earth wants us too. We all use our words to help make the world around us the way we want to see it. Money is not the outlook we should have about this world. It should be about ourselves & how we can connect with our inner selves. This is the work she is trying to get out. To love yourselves & others. Understand that we all have deeper truths. To open portals to the brain so we are not stuck in the dimension of perception of what the world really lives to be alive for, money. We are all mislead by this product that we are no longer focusing on ourselves, we see this thing that is taking us over. & since this is happening the only way to stop it is to get it so we can build new heights to the world instead of watching it kill us all because of our blindness of all of the things we are doing wrong & not seeing. With that being said not everything people say should be taking literal. It was just meant to be said at that timing of the moment because that's how it happened. I can say something to a thousand different people & each one of there minds are going to take it differently because each mind is different. That doesn't mean judge them for it. That means take it in the way it's helping your life & that's it. Judging people is not the way to go. Being understanding & understood is the only way we are all going to make peace on this earth. Once you can understand that & except it nothing anyone does or says will ever effect you in a bad way. No judgment will be made. Only happiness. Let me get one thing clear. I have no education it any of these departments either. I do know what my body & soul tell me. & that is treat others the way you want to be treated. & when you love something nothing is going to get in your way of expressing what you want for yourself & others. To save the broken. To love the unloved. She is seeking love for the world. Leaving behind a generation that is in complete understanding with their bodies so they aren't lost & confused in the process of fighting their childhoods in their adult bodies. To me, that is complete beauty. We all have our own opinions, yes. Instead of judging one other maybe we should just except eachother.

Teal Swan is the first person to tell you she doesn't have any degree, certificates or licenses to be considered an authority or professional. She changed her self invented title to sound good but bypass all the medical and mental health training the professionals go through to become state certified. That is someone with a grand plan and an angle.

She gives me the creeps, always has. I heard her on a very early interview, before she became popular- it was really something, shes totally deranged .

I find, in most of her videos, she is guiding people to ask themselves questions that reveal who they really are, what they really want, what their needs are and what behaviours they may be using to manipulate or create or repeat patterns. I think she is a master at getting people to take a very deep and close look at themselves and take responsibility for their lives. To be honest, I believe this is how you can heal, as it leads to empowerment, instead of victim, blame and judgement. Your video is an interesting take on her.

I don’t know about ‘smartest person on earth’ but she’s smart and helpful as hell.

I’ve been watching and learning from Teal Swan for years. All free content. All valuable. Todd Grande, PhD has come up on my RU-vid feed quite a few times and I have been less than impressed by his application of formally accepted theories. He has a good knowledge of conventional psychology and is understandably confined by the limits of it. It seems however that he is reluctant or unable to accept that those limits and errors exist in our current systems and practices; that we have a long way to go in this field. Yet he seems eager to (albeit inaccurately) identify the potential limits and perceived errors in a thought system outside of his own conventional bubble. Or maybe an easy target of scrutiny makes for good show content? It must be hard work attracting views to keep his business lucrative on an ongoing basis. While I’m not unsympathetic, I hope and pray for his own sake and that of others in need of what Teal offers, that this is not his motivation. It’s easy to attack this woman because she’s so honest, open, and unusual. She operates outside the limits of conventional standards as did Buddha, Jesus, Marconi and so many other revolutionary thinkers. This makes her a target just as they and many others were. Her use of scientific terminology is unconventional but her ideas are practical and beneficial. She’s correct in saying Einstein‘s PhD‘s were honorary. That’s all she said about them. She didn’t say (as suggested in the video) that he had no education; no degrees. Teal Swan completed high school and some college undergraduate study. Her deep insight comes from the unique and unconventional abilities she was born with and the difficulties she endured. This is true of many great thinkers and healers regardless of their level of formal education. And contrary to the video statements of Dr. Grande, Teal Swan never advocated for suicide. She advocates for better, more effective treatments for suicide. Yes, she tragically lost a patient to suicide but that woman was also under the care of a psychiatrist. The suicide occurred when Teal happened to be on a retreat at the time the afflicted woman experienced a crisis. She couldn’t be reached by phone and the psychiatrist was unable to help. It’s possible Teal may not have been able to prevent it either; we’ll never know. Swan was devastated by the event. The woman’s husband was deeply grateful for all she had done to help his wife and did not blame her for what happened. Many, many health care professionals have suffered such a loss. It was hard to watch this good man of science pile on to the demonization of Swan. This good woman with remarkable abilities and the potential to help many is guilty of one thing. Being ahead of her time. And that’s a lonely and risky place to dwell. I would ask Dr. Todd Grande to reach beyond the limitations of our current scope of practice, set aside his own personal beliefs and judgments, and open his mind to the reality that what Teal Swan is teaching has helped many people in dire need, including those who struggle with depression and suicidal ideation. We need all the help we can get in this world, conventional and unconventional. May each of us find the information and guidance that will help us to live healthy, happy lives and contribute to the good of all.

Prior to going through training to become an MFT I really enjoyed and gleaned a lot from Teal Swan's videos. That dramatically changed as soon as I started studying. I started to be able to recognize the flaws in her language (e.g. autonomic nervous system versus subconscious) and could see how she was conflating ideas, or presenting basic therapeutic interventions as "revolutionary" ideas she'd come up with herself. *facepalm* It definitely made me realize though, how susceptible most people can be, especially without the formal training I've been privileged to receive.

If you can’t sit through one of her videos, then that just means that your spiritual side is completely closed off and you aren’t very awakened spiritually. Watch her 2020 predictions video. Spot on! If that doesn’t make an impression on you, then I don’t what will. There is a lot more to this world than you realize.