Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology

This valued resource helps practitioners and students evaluate the merits of popular yet controversial practices in clinical psychology and allied fields, and base treatment decisions on the best available research. Leading authorities review widely used therapies for a range of child, adolescent, and adult disorders, differentiating between those that can stand up to the rigors of science and those that cannot. Questionable assessment and diagnostic techniques and self-help models are also examined. The volume provides essential skills for thinking critically as a practitioner, evaluating the validity of scientific claims, and steering clear of treatments that are ineffective or even harmful.

New to This Edition
*Reflects the significant growth of evidence-based practices in the last decade.
*Updated throughout with the latest treatment research.
*Chapter on attachment therapy.
*Chapter on controversial interventions for child and adolescent antisocial behavior.
*Addresses changes in DSM-5.

Scott O. Lilienfeld, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Emory University. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and serves on the editorial boards of several other journals. Dr. Lilienfeld’s principal interests are the causes and assessment of personality disorders, especially psychopathy; dissociative disorders; psychiatric classification and diagnosis; evidence-based practice in psychology; philosophical psychology; and the application of scientific thinking to psychology education. He is a recipient of the James McKeen Cattell Award for Distinguished Achievements in Applied Psychological Science from the Association for Psychological Science and serves as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy.

Steven Jay Lynn, PhD, ABPP, is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Binghamton University, State University of New York (SUNY), where he is Director of the Psychological Clinic. He has published more than 300 articles, books, and book chapters on topics including psychotherapy, hypnosis, science versus pseudoscience, psychopathology, and memory, and his research is widely cited in the media. Dr. Lynn is the Founding Editor and Editor of the American Psychological Association journal Psychology of Consciousness. He is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.

Jeffrey M. Lohr, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, where he has been on the faculty since 1975. His research interests include affective processes in anxiety and related disorders and pseudoscience in applied and clinical psychology. In the latter domain, he focuses primarily on the empirical analysis of treatment efficacy and the promotion of "fringe" treatments, especially as they relate to trauma and anxiety disorders. Dr. Lohr is an Associate Editor of The Behavior Therapist.

1. Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology: Initial Thoughts, Reflections, and Considerations, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, & Jeffrey M. Lohr
I. Controversies in Assessment and Diagnosis
2. Understanding Why Some Clinicians Use Pseudoscientific Methods: Findings from Research on Clinical Judgment, Howard N. Garb & Patricia A. Boyle
3. Controversial and Questionable Assessment Techniques, John Hunsley, Catherine M. Lee, James M. Wood, & Whitney Taylor
4. The Science and Pseudoscience of Expert Testimony, Joseph T. McCann, Steven Jay Lynn, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Kelley L. Shindler, & Tammy R. Hammond
5. Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Contemporary Scientific Perspective, Scott O. Lilienfeld & Steven Jay Lynn
II. Overarching Controversies in Psychological Treatment
6. The Science of Psychotherapy: Developing, Testing, and Promoting Evidence-Based Treatments, Brandon A. Gaudiano, Kristy L. Dalrymple, Lauren M. Weinstock, & Jeffrey M. Lohr
7. New Age and Related Novel Unsupported Therapies in Mental Health Practice, Monica Pignotti & Bruce A. Thyer
8. The Remembrance of Things Past: Problematic Memory Recovery Techniques in Psychotherapy, Steven Jay Lynn, Elisa Krackow, Elizabeth F. Loftus, Timothy G. Locke, & Scott O. Lilienfeld
9. Self-Help Therapy: Recent Developments in the Science and Business of Giving Psychology Away, Gerald M. Rosen, Russell E. Glasgow, Timothy E. Moore, & Manuel Barrera Jr.
III. Controversies in the Treatment of Adult Disorders
10. Science and Non-Science-based Treatments for Trauma-Related Stress Disorders, Jeffrey M. Lohr, Richard Gist, Brett Deacon, Grant J. Devilly, & Tracey Varker
11. Controversial Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorders, James MacKillop & Joshua Gray
12. Herbal Treatments and Antidepressant Medication: Similar Data, Divergent Conclusions, Harald Walach & Irving Kirsch
IV. Controversies in the Treatment of Child and Adolescent Disorders
13. Empirically Supported, Promising, and Unsupported Treatments for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Daniel A. Waschbusch & James G. Waxmonsky
14. The Status of Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Weak Relationship of Science to Interventions, Raymond G. Romanczyk, Laura B. Turner, Melina Sevlever, & Jennifer M. Gillis
15. Attachment Therapy, Jean Mercer
16. Antisocial Behavior of Children and Adolescents: Harmful Treatments, Effective Interventions, and Novel Strategies, Anthony Petrosino, Pamela MacDougall, Meghan E. Hollis-Peel, Trevor A. Fronius, & Sarah Guckenberg
Conclusions and Future Directions
17. Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology: Concluding Thoughts and Constructive Remedies, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, & Jeffrey M. Lohr