This edited book of readings, intended for undergraduates, graduate students, as well as teachers, researchers, and practicing clinicians, introduces readers to the basic principles of scientific thinking in clinical psychology and allied fields.   It is the first to focus exclusively on teaching students how to think scientifically about clinical practice. The user-friendly and accessible readings provide students with basic critical thinking skills needed to evaluate evidence concerning the assessment, causes, and treatment of mental disorders, and will allow students to become better informed consumers of the literature in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, social work, psychiatry, and other allied disciplines. It will also be an indispensable guide to graduate students in training, as it will help them how to think critically about psychotherapy and other domains of clinical practice. The book consists of classic selections about both science in general and clinical science in particular, and should be required reading for all students who aspire to become mental health professionals.

Scott Lilienfeld is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta. Scott earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota; he completed his clinical internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinics. His principal areas of research are personality disorders, psychiatric classification and diagnosis, evidence-based practices in psychology, and the challenges posed by pseudoscience to clinical psychology. Scott received the 1998 David Shakow Award for Early Career Contributions to Clinical Psychology, is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and is a past president of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology. He is the co-author of Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology and Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the Scientific Review of Mental Health practice and Associate Editor of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

 

 

William T. O’Donohue is a licensed clinical psychologist and is widely recognized for his proposed innovations in mental health service delivery, in treatment design and evaluation, and in knowledge of empirically supported therapies and evidence-based clinical practice.  He is a member of the Association for the Advancement for Behavior Therapy and served on the Board of Directors of this organization.  Dr. O’Donohue has an exemplary history of successful grant funding and government contracts.   Since 1996, he has received over $1,500,000 in federal grant monies from sources including the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Justice.  In addition, Dr. O’Donohue has published his work prolifically.  He has edited over twenty books, and written thirty-five book chapters on various topics and published reviews for seven books.  Furthermore, he has published more than seventy-five articles in scholarly journals.  Dr. O’Donohue is a national expert in training clinicians in integrated care and developing quality improvement projects in integrated care.  

IN THIS SECTION:

1.) BRIEF

2.) COMPREHENSIVE

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BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 

I. The Scientific Attitude: An Introduction  

II. Clinical Psychology: Why a Scientific Approach Matters

III. Clinical Science as a Safeguard against Human Error

IV. Interpreting Evidence in Clinical Psychology

V. Thinking Scientifically about Assessment and Psychotherapy

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COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 

I. The Scientific Attitude: An Introduction

Sagan, C. (1995). Wonder and skepticism. Skeptical Inquirer, 19 (1), 24-30.

Feynman, R. (1974, June). Cargo cult science. Engineering and Science, 37 (7), 10-13.

Shermer, M. (1994). How thinking goes wrong: Twenty-five fallacies that can lead us to believe weird things. Skeptic, 2 (3), 42-49.

Schafersman, S.D. (1994). An introduction to science: Scientific thinking and the scientific method. Free Inquiry Website. http://www.indiana.edu/~educy520/readings/schafersman94.pdf

Hempel, C. (1966). The case of Dr. Semmelweis. In Philosophy of natural science. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

 

II. Clinical Psychology: Why a Scientific Approach Matters

McFall, R.M. (1991). Manifesto for a science of clinical psychology. Clinical Psychologist, 44 (6), 75—88.

O'Donohue, W. T. (1989). The (even) bolder model: The clinical psychologist as metaphysician-scientist-practitioner. American Psychologist, 44, 1460-1468.

O’Donohue, W.T. & Henderson, D. (1999). Epistemic and ethical duties in clinical decision-making. Behaviour Change, 16, 10-19.

Gambrill, E. & Dawes, R.M. (2003). Ethics, science, and the helping professions: A conversation with Robyn Dawes. Journal of Social Work Education, 39, 27-40.

 Lilienfeld, S.O. (1998). Pseudoscience in contemporary clinical psychology: What it is and what we can do about it. The Clinical Psychologist, 51, 3-9.

 

III. Clinical Science as a Safeguard against Human Error

Arkes, H.R. (1981). Impediments to accurate clinical judgment and possible ways to minimize their impact. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 323-330.

Crumlish, N., & Kelly, B.D. (2009). How psychiatrists think. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 15, 72-79.

Dawes, R., M., Faust, D., & Meehl, P.E. (1989). Clinical versus actuarial judgment. Science, 243, 1668-1674.

Meehl, P.E. (1973). Why I do not attend case conferences. In P.E. Meehl, Psychodiagnosis: Selected papers (pp. 225-302). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (Excerpt)

 

IV. Interpreting Evidence in Clinical Psychology

Ayllon, T., Haughton, E., & Hughes, H. B. (1965). Interpretation of symptoms: Fact or fiction? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 3, 1-7.

Maher, B.A. (1978). A reader’s, writer’s, and reviewer’s guide to assessing research reports in clinical psychology. Journal of

Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 835-838.

Kendler, K.S. (2005). Toward a philosophical structure for psychiatry. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 433-440.

Gigerenzer, G. et al. (2009, April). Knowing your chances: What health stats really mean. Scientific American Mind, 44-51.

 

V. Thinking Scientifically about Assessment and Psychotherapy

Lilienfeld, S.O., Wood, J.M., & Garb, H.N. (2006). Why questionable psychological tests remain popular. Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 10, 6-15.

 Harkness, A.R., & Lilienfeld, S.O. (1997). Individual differences science for treatment planning: Personality traits. Psychological Assessment, 9, 349-360.

Sechrest, L., & Smith, B. (1994). Psychotherapy is the practice of psychology. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 4, 1-29.

Beyerstein, B.L. (1999). Social and judgmental biases that make inert treatments seem to work. Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 3, 16-29.

Stuart, R. (2004). Twelve suggestions for developing multicultural competence. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 3-9.