Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T00:39:20.029Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Thinking Critically about Therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2023

By
Cara L. Santa Maria
Edited by
Stephen Hupp  and
Cara L. Santa Maria
Stephen Hupp
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Cara L. Santa Maria
Affiliation:
Fielding Graduate University, California
Get access

Summary

The introductory chapter defines pseudoscience as it relates to therapy. Potential harms of using pseudoscientific interventions are discussed. Pseudoscience is contrasted with attempts to identify science-based therapies. The chapter identifies the challenge in distinguishing between science and pseudoscience due to the fuzzy boundary between these two constructs.

Keywords

pseudosciencefringe sciencecritical thinkingskepticismdemarcation problemevidence-informed practiceevidence-based treatmentsscience-based therapy
Type
Chapter
Information
Pseudoscience in Therapy
A Skeptical Field Guide
 , pp. 1 - 10
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice. (2006). Evidence-based practice in psychology. American Psychologist, 61, 271–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychological Association Task Force on Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures. (1995). Training in and dissemination of empirically-validated psychological treatments: Report and recommendations. The Clinical Psychologist, 48, 3–23.Google Scholar
Baker, T., McFall, R., & Shodham, V. (2008). Current status and future prospects of clinical psychology: Toward a scientifically principled approach to mental and behavioral health care. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 68–103.Google Scholar
Barlow, D. H. (2010). Negative effects from psychological treatments: A perspective. American Psychologist, 65(1), 13–20.Google Scholar
Barlow, D. H., Bullis, J. R., Comer, J. S., & Ametaj, A. A. (2013). Evidence-based psychological treatments: An update and a way forward. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 9, 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beutler, L. E., & Forrester, B. (2014). What needs to change: Moving from “research informed” practice to “empirically effective” practice. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 24(3), 168–177.Google Scholar
Castonguay, L. G. (2013). Psychotherapy outcome: An issue worth re-visiting 50 years later. Psychotherapy, 50(1), 52–67.Google Scholar
Chambless, D. L., & Hollon, S. D. (1998). Defining empirically supported therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 7–18.Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. J. (1952). The effects of psychotherapy: An evaluation. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 16, 319–324.Google Scholar
Fasce, A. (2018). Divan couches and gurus: The origin and dangers of clinical pseudopsychology. Mètode Science Studies Journal, 8, 165–171.Google Scholar
Gaudiano, B. A., & Miller, I. W. (2013). The evidence-based practice of psychotherapy: Facing the challenges that lie ahead. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 813–824.Google Scholar
Hansson, S. O. (2021). Science and pseudo-science, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2021/entries/pseudo-science/.Google Scholar
Helms, S. W. (2019). What is gay conversion therapy? In Hupp, S. (ed.), Pseudoscience in child and adolescent psychotherapy: A skeptical field guide (pp. 292–293). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hunsley, J. (2007). Addressing key challenges in evidence-based practice in psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(2), 113–121.Google Scholar
Hupp, S. (2018). Child and adolescent psychotherapy: Components of evidence-based treatments for youth and their parents. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hupp, S. (2019). Pseudoscience in child and adolescent psychotherapy: A skeptical field guide. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hupp, S., Mercer, J., Thyer, B. A., & Pignotti, M. (2019). Critical thinking about psychotherapy. In Hupp, S. (Ed.), Pseudoscience in child and adolescent psychotherapy: A skeptical field guide. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hupp, S., & Tolin, D. (in press). Science-based therapy. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (2008). Evidence-based treatment and practice: New opportunities to bridge clinical research and practice, enhance the knowledge base, and improve care. American Psychologist, 63, 146–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambert, M. J. (2013). Outcome in psychotherapy: The past and important advances. Psychotherapy, 50(1), 42–51.Google Scholar
Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., & Lohr, J. M. (Eds.). (2003). Science and pseudoscience in clinical psychology. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Novella, S., Novella, B., Santa Maria, C., Novella, J., & Bernstein, E. (2018). The skeptics’ guide to the universe: How to know what’s really real in a world increasingly full of fake. Grand Central Publishing.Google Scholar
Pigliucci, M., & Boudry, M. (2014). Philosophy of pseudoscience: Reconsidering the demarcation problem. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Pignotti, M., & Thyer, B., (2019). Obsessions and compulsions. In Hupp, S. (Ed.), Pseudoscience in child and adolescent psychotherapy: A skeptical field guide (pp. 159–171). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sagan, C. (1995). The demon-haunted world: Science as a candle in the dark. Random House.Google Scholar
Scherr, J. F., Kryszak, E. M., & Mulick, J. A. (2019). Autism spectrum. In Hupp, S. (Ed.), Pseudoscience in child and adolescent psychotherapy: A skeptical field guide (pp. 28–49). Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, M. L., & Glass, G. V. (1977). Meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies. American Psychologist, 32, 752–760.Google Scholar
Tolin, D. F., McKay, D., Forman, E. M., Klonsky, E. D., & Thombs, B. D. (2015). Empirically supported treatment: Recommendations for a new model. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 22, 317–338.Google Scholar
Wampold, B. J., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work. 2nd edn. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×