This new book addresses the neglected field of research on child and adolescent psychotherapy and does an excellent job of distinguishing treatments that have been proven to work from treatments that are based on pseudoscience. Pseudoscience in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: a Skeptical Field Guide is a new book with… read more "Pseudoscience in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy"
Cargo Cult Psychology
A cargo cult pseudo airplane. How much of psychology is like this? Last year I reviewed Tomasz Witkowski and Maciej Zatonski’s book Psychology Gone Wrong where they pointed out that many of psychology’s accepted beliefs and therapies were not based on good evidence. Now Witkowski has written a new book, to be… read more "Cargo Cult Psychology"
Psychology and Psychotherapy: How Much Is Evidence-Based?
Despite all those Polish jokes, Poland has its share of good scientists and critical thinkers. A superb new book illustrates that fact in spades: Psychology Gone Wrong: The Dark Side of Science and Therapy, by Tomasz Witkowski and Maciej Zatonski, http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Gone-Wrong-Science-Therapy/dp/1627345280 Witkowski is a psychologist, science writer, and founder of… read more "Psychology and Psychotherapy: How Much Is Evidence-Based?"
Ecstasy for PTSD: Not Ready for Prime Time
Hundreds of desperate combat veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are reportedly seeking experimental treatment with an illegal drug from a husband-wife team in South Carolina. The Bonhoefers recently published a study showing that adding MDMA (ecstasy, the party drug) to psychotherapy was effective in eliminating or greatly reducing the… read more "Ecstasy for PTSD: Not Ready for Prime Time"
Antidepressants and Effect Size
Antidepressant drugs have been getting a bad rap in the media. I’ll just give three examples: On the Today show, prominent medical expert ? Tom Cruise told us Brooke Shields shouldn’t have taken these drugs for her postpartum depression. In Natural News, “Health Ranger” Mike Adams accused pharmaceutical companies and the FDA… read more "Antidepressants and Effect Size"
Psychiatry-Bashing
Psychiatry is arguably the least science-based of the medical specialties. Because of that, it comes in for a lot of criticism. Much of the criticism is justified, but some critics make the mistake of dismissing even the possibility that psychiatry could be scientific. They throw the baby out with the… read more "Psychiatry-Bashing"