ASSOCIATION for BEHAVIORAL and ISSN 0278-8403 ABCT COGNITIVE THERAPIES ▲ VOLUME 41, NO. 1•JANUARY 2018 the Behavior Therapist SPECIAL ISSUE PSEUDOSCIENCE Introduction to the Special Issue in Mental Health Tr eatment Pseudoscience in Mental Special Issue Editor: R. Trent Codd, III Health Treatment: What Remedies Are Available? R. Trent Codd, III Introduction to the Special Issue: Pseudoscience in Mental R. Trent Codd, III, Cognitive-Behav- Health Treatment: What Remedies Are Available ● 1 ioral Therapy Center of WNC, P.A. David N. Rapp and Amalia M. Donovan The Challenge of Overcoming Pseudoscientific Ideas ● 4 MANY MENTAL HEALTH professionals deliver David Trafimow interventions that are unsupported by science. The Scientist-Practitioner Gap in Clinical Psychology: These interventions range from inert to harm- ful. In addition, many consumers of psycholog- A Social Psychology Perspective ● 12 ical services espouse confidence in scientifically William O’Donohue unsound theories and their associated interven- Science and Epistemic Vice: The Manufacture and Marketing tions. The behavioral consequences of such of Problematic Evidence ● 19 confidence is frequently consumer pursuit of unhelpful treatment, often to the exclusion of William C. Follette treatments with empirical support. Clinician Pseudoscience Persists Until Clinical Science and consumer allegiance to unsubstantiated Raises the Bar ● 24 treatments is a major barrier to the optimal care of persons with psychological difficulties. Clara Johnson, Shannon Wiltsey-Stirman, and Heidi La Bash An example of how pseudoscience has inter- De-implementation of Harmful, Pseudoscientific Practices: fered in my own clinical practice is instructive. An Underutilized Step in Implementation Research ● 32 There is widespread agreement in the scientific Stuart Vyse community that exposure and response preven- What’s a Therapist to Do When Clients Have Pseudoscientific tion (ERP), which has been available for Beliefs? ● 36 decades, is the gold-standard treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Yet, it is Dean McKay unclear whether most persons with OCD The Seductive Allure of Pseudoscience in Clinical Practice ● 39 receive ERP rather than treatments not indi- cated or even contraindicated in the treatment Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, and Stephen C. Bowden of OCD. Many anecdotes illustrative of this Why Evidence-Based Practice Isn’t Enough: problem are available for sharing. Also available A Call for Science-Based Practice ● 42 are examples of patients involved in ERP who simultaneously received competing advice that Lisa A. Napolitano undermined their treatment and did not com- Pseudotherapies in Clinical Psychology: port with the scientific database pertaining to What Legal Recourse Do We Have? ● 47 OCD. One salient anecdote involves a former patient of mine with particularly severe OCD Monica Pignotti symptoms. During my attempt to deliver ERP Exposing Pseudoscientific Practices: Benefits and Hazards ● 51 to him, this patient was variously advised to [Contents continued on p. 2] [continued on p. 3] January • 2018 1 the Behavior Therapist Contents, continued Published by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies 305 Seventh Avenue - 16th Floor New York, NY 10001 | www.abct.org At ABCT (212) 647-1890 | Fax: (212) 647-1865 Classified ● 54 Call for Nominations for ABCT Officers ● 55 Editor: Kate Wolitzky-Taylor Awards & Recognition Ceremony, 2017 ● 56 Editorial Assistant: Bita Mesri Call for Award Nominations, 2018 ● 58 Associate Editors RaeAnn Anderson 52nd ANNUAL CONVENTION Katherine Baucom Preparing to Submit an Abstract ● 60 Sarah Kate Bearman Understanding the ABCT Convention ● 61 Shannon Blakey Call for Continuing Education Sessions ● 62 Angela Cathey Call for Papers (General Sessions) ● 63 Trent Codd David DiLillo ABCT and Continuing Education ● 64 Lisa Elwood Clark Goldstein David Hansen Katharina Kircanski Richard LeBeau Angela Moreland Stephanie Mullins-Sweatt Amy Murell Alyssa Ward Tony Wells Steven Whiteside Monnica Williams INSTRUCTIONS Ñçê AUTHORS ABCT President: Sabine Wilhelm Executive Director: Mary Jane Eimer The Association for Behavioral and Cog- Submissions must be accompanied by a Director of Communications: David Teisler nitive Therapies publishes the Behavior Copyright Transfer Form (which can be Therapist as a service to its membership. downloaded on our website: http://www. 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Please also All items published in the Behavior Therapist, includ- ited to approximately 3 double-spaced include, as an attachment, the completed ing advertisements, are for the information of our read- manuscript pages. copyright transfer document. ers, and publication does not imply endorsement by the Association. 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE: PSEUDOSCIENCE seek chiropractic care, neurofeedback, and tific treatments seem to propagate, the to pseudoscientific psychotherapy and even allergy shots! For clarity, those inter- debunking model can only result in an offers some recommendations for remedi- ventions were all recommended specifi- endless game of whack-a-mole. Other ation. Lilienfeld, Lynn, and Bowden (this cally for his OCD. Sadly, I was not particu- strategies have been tried too, of course, issue) then note that evidence-based prac- larly persuasive and, despite my including various forms of advocacy, edu- tice (EBP) has not been particularly suc- recommendation not to do so, this individ- cation campaigns, and legislative efforts. cessful in impeding the spread of pseudo- ual pursued each of these interventions, Yet, the problem remains. science in psychotherapy. Consequently, one after the other, as each failed in turn. The primary objective of this special they introduce and argue for science-based Notably, the patient neglected ERP as he issue is to explore alternatives to the pure practice as an alternative to EBP. worked through this sequence of treat- debunking model. The contributors' acad- Then, Napolitano (this issue), trained in ments. Also notable is that this patient’s emic disciplines differ, affording fresh per- both clinical psychology and law, OCD symptoms were so impairing that he spectives stemming from their unique and approaches the problem from a legal per- was unable to maintain employment and varied vantage points. Experimental psy- spective. She makes the case that profes- thus he struggled financially. He was not chologists Rapp and Donovan (this issue) sional associations and government agen- able to compensate with monetary assis- open the issue with a presentation of an cies have been ineffective in protecting tance from his family because they did not experimental literature that can inform the consumers and the mental health profes- possess robust financial resources. How- construction of interventions targeted at sions from the negative impact of ever, his financial obstacles did not impede the remediation of pseudoscientific beliefs. pseudotherapies. Consequently, she his pursuit of the recommended interven- Next, Trafimow (this issue) provides a emphasizes the value of exploring legal tions. Although all of these interventions social psychological perspective