Therapists are, in Masson's opinion, inevitably corrupted by power and "abuse of one form or another is built into the very fabric of psychotherapy".

He gives an example of a therapist who used his "insensitivity, historical bewilderment, and general incomprehension" as "weapons with which he punish [a] woman for not viewing the universe the way he did".

[1]: 83 He argues that therapists impose an internal understanding of people's problems, refusing to help a patient reach an external understanding of the world citing the example of psychiatry's failure to acknowledge the existence of sexual abuse of children.

[1]: 580 Time wrote, "Although the author's slash-and-burn style of argument can be entertaining, readers should keep their hands on their wallets.

"[2] The New York Times argued that "Masson has failed to put a stake through the heart of therapy—in fact, he's greatly missed the mark.