Catholic university requires therapy majors to watch ‘bondage videos’ and write ‘sexual autobiography,’ student says
A student at Santa Clara University said she was fired from her internship recently after speaking out against progressive “ideological conformity” in the therapy profession.
Graduate student Naomi Best (pictured) shared the news Thursday on X, writing, “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,” she wrote.
The 26-year-old did not mention where she was interning or what specific reason her supervisor gave for dismissing her.
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
A marriage and family therapy major, Best wrote a column last week at the Wall Street Journal about the “left-wing” ideological and sexual content in her required classes at the Catholic institution.
“To become a therapist, I’m expected to watch bondage videos and submit a ‘sexual autobiography,’” her column began.
Best wrote more about the required course:
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. …
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.
On ethical and religious grounds, I requested an alternative assignment. Cary Watson, the department chairman, denied my request, suggesting I change my plans and pursue a different type of license.
Best said she enrolled in the class again because it’s a requirement for graduation, again requesting an accommodation.
Instead, she said Professor Wei set up a meeting with her where he promised the class would be “professional” and “sexual disclosure wouldn’t be required.” Best continued:
But in the classroom, among other things, he showed a how-to bondage video featuring a submissive wearing a “gimp suit” (a full-body garment designed to restrict movement) and played songs like “WAP” and “I Beat My Meat”—racial slurs included. A guest speaker, a male transgender psychologist, told us “only trans women have p—s that can blow up the world” and described being sexually aroused while looking in the mirror. One exercise included anonymously writing down something we disliked about our genitals or breasts, to be read aloud in class by another student.
Eventually, Best said the university agreed to give her a “one-time exception” – withdraw from the class, “pay out of pocket for a continuing-education course to fulfill licensure requirements, and enroll in an extra three units at Santa Clara to be eligible to graduate.”
The problem was not just that class. Best said other classes she took at the Catholic university instructed future therapists to “affirm” children who believe they were born the wrong sex, and taught that “objective” thinking is a characteristic of “white culture.”
Despite the risk, Best said she felt compelled to speak up.
“When clinicians are trained to see everything through an ideological lens, rather than with ethical neutrality, the consequences extend far beyond the therapy room,” she wrote.
Neither the university media relations office nor Professors Wei and Watson immediately responded to a request for comment on the situation from The College Fix on Friday morning.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Therapy student Naomi Best says she was fired from an internship after speaking out against leftist ideology; Best Naomi Epps Best/X
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