The quintessential “Chad,” a hypermasculine, alpha-male frat bro, is probably not who you’d turn to for advice. He’s more the type to hit the gym or chug a Natty Light than listen empathetically to his friend’s problems, and you’d probably only get a “damn, dude, that sucks” out of him if he did. Certainly, then, becoming a therapist likely isn’t high on the list of potential Chad careers.
TikToker @nottclay makes a case against this, though. In his recent series of viral TikToks entitled “What If Chad Was a Therapist?” he asks the essential questions: What if Chad was a therapist? What would he say? How would he help people?
By @nottclay’s estimation, it doesn’t seem like Chad would make a very good one. But at the same time, he’s got potential. In his most viral video, he begins by telling the viewer to “Sit, like, wherever you want, like, on God, yeah, no cap.” The Chad therapist sports athletic sunglasses too dark to see his eyes, a backwards flat-brim hat and a frontwards visor. “Would you say your childhood was a W or an L?” he asks. “Your dog died when you were 12. Okay major L, let me write that down. That’s mad unfortch.”
In this version, the Chad therapist is rather kind, though he does refer to the patient’s job as “fucking stupid.” In other videos, Chad has more of a mean streak, continuing to click his pen despite asking if it’s annoying, and saying it’s “cap” that the patient has a girlfriend. But what did you expect? Chad communicates in the language of his people.
Although some of Chad’s borderline bullying statements would be discouraging, his casual, honest style could be precisely what’s needed to get his fellow Chads into the therapist’s office. Surely, it would feel safer and easier to discuss past traumas as “major Ls” than to analyze them through a lens of traditional therapy-speak. More than that, wouldn’t it be a comfort for Chads to talk with someone just like them? Someone who understands the burden of the role?
On a different note, @nottclay’s videos further highlight how embedded terms once belonging to incel culture have become in the mainstream. @nottclay’s Chad isn’t necessarily the total stud who gets all the Stacys, but he’s basically your average college bro who’d probably like to think he is. The name “Chad” has become a common catchall for this type of dude.
In any case, @nottclay has only posted three versions of the Chad Therapist, but the people are asking for more. In his comments sections, viewers expressed their hope that the series continues. “This is the kind of therapy I need,” one guy wrote. “More Chad as a therapist plz,” another added.
Even in joke form, the world needs more Chad Therapists.
Magdalene Taylor
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts.
