Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology

This book offers a rigorous examination of a variety of therapeutic, assessment, and diagnostic techniques in clinical psychology, focusing on practices that are popular and influential but lack a solid grounding in empirical research. Featuring chapters from leading clinical researchers, the text helps professionals and students evaluate the merits of novel and controversial techniques and differentiate between those that can stand up to scientific scrutiny and those that cannot. Reviewed are widely used therapies for alcoholism, infantile autism, and ADHD; the use of EMDR in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder; herbal remedies for depression and anxiety; suggestive techniques for memory recovery; and self-help models. Other topics covered include issues surrounding psychological expert testimony, the uses and abuses of projective assessment techniques, and unanswered questions about dissociative identity disorder. Offering a balanced, constructive review of available research, each accessibly written chapter concludes with a glossary of key terms. Timothy Anderson, Ohio University, Athens, OH. Laura Arnstein, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY. Patricia Boyle, Brown University, Providence, RI. Howard N. Garb, Be

Table of Contents:
Lilienfeld, Lynn, Lohr, Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology: Initial Thoughts, Reflections, and Considerations. Part 1: Controversies in Assessment and Diagnosis. Garb, Boyle, Understanding Why Some Clinicians Use Pseudoscientific Methods: Findings from Research on Clinical Judgment. Hunsley, Lee, Wood, Controversial and Questionable Assessment Techniques. McCann, Shindler, Hammond, The Science and Pseudoscience of Expert Testimony.Lilienfeld, Lynn, Dissociative Identity Disorder: Multiple Personalities, Multiple Controversies. Part 2: General Controversies in Psychotherapy. Garske, Anderson, Toward a Science of Psychotherapy Research: Present States and Evaluation. Singer, Nievod, New Age Therapies.Lynn, Lock, Loftus, Krackow, Lilienfeld, The Remembrance of Things Past: Problematic Memory Recovery Techniques in Psychotherapy. Part 3: Controversies in the Treatment of Specific Adult Disorders. Lohr, Hooke, Gist, Tolin, Novel and Controversial Treatments for Trauma-Related Stress Disorders. MacKillop, Lisman, Weinstein, Rosenbaum, Controversial Treatments for Alcoholism. Walach, Kirsch, Herbal Treatments and Antidepressant Medication: Similar Data, Divergent Conclusions. Part 4: Controversies in the Treatment of Specific Child Disorders.Waschbusch, Hill, Empirically Supported, Promising, and Unsupported Treatments for Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Romancyck, Arnstein, Soorya, Gillis, The Myriad Controversial Treatments for Autism: A Critical Evaluation of Efficacy. Part 5: Controversies Regarding Self-Help and the Media.Rosen, Glasgow, Moore, Self-Help Therapy: The Science and Business of Giving Psychology Away. Wilson, Commercializing Mental Health Issues: Entertainment, Advertising, and Psychological Advice. Lilienfeld, Lynn, Lohr, Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology: Concluding Thoughts and Constructive Remedies.

About the Author :
Scott O. Lilienfeld, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at Emory University, USA Steven Jay Lynn, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Binghamton, USA Jeffrey M. Lohr, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, USA

Review :
At last - a book that pulls no punches, names names, and isn't afraid to portray junk science for what it is. This will be invaluable reading for anyone in the mental health professions and an essential reference for students. - Harrison G. Pope, Jr., Harvard Medical School, USA This unique and timely book may avert the advent of the Dark Ages into which the discipline of psychotherapy seems to be heading. By clearly articulating the fundamental differences between 'science' and 'pseudoscience', it forewarns that anecdotes are not evidence, and demonstrates how to separate fact from conjecture. I cannot think of anyone who would not benefit from a thorough perusal of its contents, but it is particularly essential reading for those conducting any form of counseling or psychotherapy. - Arnold A. Lazarus, Rutgers University This superb volume is an instant classic and one of the most important books published in the last 20 years in psychology or law... [It] provides a much needed antidote to the epidemic of pseudoscience that has too often stained the integrity of the mental health and legal systems. Mental health professionals, lawyers and judges should all view these chapters as essential information for basic professional competence. - R. Christopher Barden, National Association for Consumer Protection in Mental Health As a text for students, this book effectively illustrates the importance of becoming an evidence-based practitioner. It inoculates aspiring clinicians against the bandwagon appeal of 'fashionable' interventions and the seductive claims of pseudoscientific treatment studies. - Allen Rubin Represents a most welcome attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff in mental health practices... Engaging, incisive, and illuminating. - Journal of the American Medical Association This is clearly a text that should be read by every social worker and social work student. - Journal of Social Work Education Online This unique and timely book may avert the advent of the Dark Ages into which the discipline of psychotherapy seems to be heading. By clearly articulating the fundamental differences between 'science' and 'pseudoscience', it forewarns that anecdotes are not evidence, and demonstrates how to separate fact from conjecture. I cannot think of anyone who would not benefit from a thorough perusal of its contents, but it is particularly essential reading for those conducting any form of counseling or psychotherapy. - Arnold A. Lazarus, Rutgers University