Last week a grad student named Naomi Epps Best came forward to describe how the curriculum at Santa Clara University where she is pursuing a masters in Marriage and Family Counseling had been taken over by critical theory. Her story was published by the Wall Street Journal.
I’m a graduate student in marriage and family therapy at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution. Recently, I walked out of class. Prof. Chongzheng Wei had just played a video of a female “influencer” engaging in sexual bondage activity. When the lights came up, the professor smiled and asked if we wanted to try it ourselves. Maybe it was a crass joke to break the tension, but I didn’t want to find out if a live demonstration was next.
What began as a simple accommodation request in a required course called Human Sexuality turned into a case study in the reshaping of therapy training—not by science but by critical theory, a worldview that filters human experience through left-wing assumptions about power, oppression and identity, particularly regarding race, “gender” and sexuality.
The first time I enrolled in the course, students were assigned to read sadomasochistic erotica and a book called “The Guide to Getting It On,” featuring sexually explicit illustrations. We were told to write an eight- to 10-page “comprehensive sexual autobiography,” which could include early sexual memories, masturbation, current experiences, and future goals with an action plan—all uploaded to a third-party platform for grading. The syllabus allowed that students “are not required to disclose anything that causes extreme discomfort,” but that disclaimer rang hollow attached to an assignment requiring us to discuss such personal matters.
Not willing to describe her detailed sexual history in a paper to be graded by strangers, Epps Best requested an alternative assignment from the department chair. Her request was denied. She also went to the dean, the provost and the Title IX office. But there was no alternative to the class if she wanted to graduate so she re-enrolled. During a zoom meeting, the professor promised no sexual disclosure would be required. But Epps Best found other aspects of the course upsetting and once again asked to be allowed to complete the course remotely. That request was denied. She was given the option of withdrawing from the class, taking an outside class at her own expense and then taking an additional three credits at the school to count toward graduation.
But her problems with the program didn’t end with that one class.
The entire field of educating therapy has been hollowed out and filled in with critical theory. Therapists are no longer trained to be neutral; they’re trained to be agents of political change. Concepts like modesty and marital privacy aren’t merely treated as optional or even dismissed. They’re seen as oppressive norms to be actively combated.
In Multicultural Counseling, we were told that “objective, rational, linear thinking,” “delayed gratification,” and making a “plan for the future” are traits of “white culture.” I was required to preface mock therapy sessions by “naming my whiteness” and warning that I might misread clients because of my race. In Human Sexuality, we were taught that children with six months of “gender distress” should be “affirmed” in their belief that they are of the opposite sex—without deeper assessment, even when trauma or autism was present.
As her story was published, she posted a video introducing herself on X.
I just blew this whistle in @WSJ on ideological and sexual coercion in Santa Clara University’s Graduate Psychology program. It’s worse than the piece reads. I’m not done speaking up for students and future clients. Read for free here: https://t.co/9CxlaDAyQj pic.twitter.com/dVBZJhUoYI
— Naomi Epps Best (@naomieppsbest) June 6, 2025
Santa Clara University responded with a statement. What follows is from Epps Best’s Substack. The school’s statement is in italics and her response is in bold.
California law sets forth a number of requirements that all students must meet to qualify for licensure as a marriage and family therapist. One of those requirements is to complete instruction in human sexuality that includes the study of physiological, psychological, and social cultural variables associated with sexual behavior and gender identity, and the assessment and treatment of psychosexual dysfunction. All programs, not just Santa Clara’s, must meet these requirements.
Indeed, California requires Marriage and Family Therapy students to acquire education in human sexuality. It DOES NOT require the submission of a “comprehensive sexual autobiography” to be submitted to professors. In fact, the American Psychological Association (APA) explicitly bars psychologists from requiring sexual disclosure by students, as outlined in APA Ethics Code 7.04: Student Disclosure of Personal Information. SCU’s Counseling Psychology MA program is not accredited by APA, but the psychologists who oversee the program are bound by APA ethics codes and principles.
Classroom content examines numerous aspects of human sexuality because understanding these issues is an essential part of preparing students to become licensed therapists. These professionals must be trained to effectively support individuals from a broad range of human experiences, including those that may be vastly different than their own.
I have never objected to learning how to support individuals with a broad range of experiences. In fact, learning how to “support individuals” is what has been missing from my education. Instead, we were shown a how-to bondage tutorial and a promotional video of a sex dungeon. After we were shown a woman flogged, electroshocked, wrapped in plastic, gagged and threatened with a knife, our professor asked students if we wanted to “try it.”…
In the course syllabus and various other communications, the program makes clear that no student is expected to reveal personal information they do not want to share.
CPSY 211: Human Sexuality is a requirement to graduate from the program. According to Department Chair Watson, a comprehensive sexual autobiography requirement has been in place since the 1980’s.
Santa Clara University removed the course syllabus of CPSY 211 from its website after the publication of my article as of June 10th, 2025.
Unfortunately, that is not the end of this story. Yesterday Epps Best revealed she had been fired from her internship in response to the publication of the story.
I’ve just been let go from my therapy internship following blowing the whistle in @WSJopinion on ideological conformity in therapy.
This is why I spoke up. And I’m not done. Pray for me.
— Naomi Epps Best (@naomieppsbest) June 12, 2025
She posted this video describing what happened.
Blew the whistle in @WSJopinion on ideological rigidity in therapy training. A week later, I am fired from my internship with the regret of my boss. This field is in crisis. The public needs to know. pic.twitter.com/EldOjq0hOG
— Naomi Epps Best (@naomieppsbest) June 12, 2025
So that’s where things stand now. Epps Best is currently writing a book about this but it’s not clear (to me anyway) if she has a publisher yet. Hopefully, her story will encourage other people to come forward and share their experiences with woke indoctrination. I suspect there are many more people training in these fields who have similar stories to tell.
