The article Psychological Treatments That Cause Harm, by Scott Lilienfeld, discusses the potentially harmful therapies. Individuals in the mental health professions are held to particular standards, a major being that they should not cause harm to their clients. However, the current article evaluates and modifies prior conclusions regarding potentially harmful therapies. Potentially harmful therapies are concerning because of various reasons. Mainly, all clinicians are obliged to not place clients in undue risk of deterioration. When clinicians understand the underlying mechanism of PHT’s they will be able to help their client more effectively and yield greater positive results in client improvement. Lilienfeld, outlines methodological obstacles
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In terms of PHT’s, it is important to identify the benefits of natural recovery versus treatment oriented. An example provided of selective preventive interventions is critical incident stress debriefing which is used to prevent symptoms of PTSD in those who have undergone a traumatic event. A CISD session last 3-4 hours which is administered within 24-72 hours of the traumatic event. However, there is a possibility that there may be underlying harmful effects that occur in CISD sessions. Research has shown that using CISD, as a preventative measure for those at risk for developing PTSD, is ineffective at warding off PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, research also suggest that CISD has harmful long-term effects which is hypothesized to be caused by impeding the natural recovery process. A second example in Lilienfeld’s article of selective preventive interventions is “scared straight” programs aimed at reducing the likelihood of at-risk adolescents from falling into a life of crime. The premise of “scared straight” programs is frightening teens by exposing them to the harsh realities of prison life. Rather than helping at-risk teens, it instead found that the program resulted in a significant increase in arrest compared to those in no-treatment control …show more content…
Attempting to avoid any encounters with potentially harmful therapies should be at the pinnacle of any treatment. There should be a greater emphasis placed at the underlying mechanism that follows PHT’s. It is important to identify these PHT’s mechanisms, mainly to identify PHT’s, but also to determine whether all PHT’s have the same underlying mechanisms. It is extremely disturbing to know that the possibility of treatments exerting harmful effects has been observed within the last 70 years, yet there has not been extensive research in the area. As previously mentioned, clinicians are held to the standard that their care of clients is aimed at producing to harm. However, imposing a treatment on a client that has the possibility of yielding harmful effect goes against such standard. Any health care practitioner should be held to a standard level of care, thus practitioners who provide treatments that have been found to have harmful effects are not preforming to their standard level of care. Clients who seek treatment do so to improve and not deteriorate. Thankfully, research suggests that 3-6%/5-10% of clients become worse following psychotherapy. Particularly, those in substance abuse treatments have higher deteriorating rates. Properly identifying underlying mechanisms can aid in reducing these percentages altogether. However, these numbers are not accurate. Lilienfeld, suggest that there
In terms of PHT’s, it is important to identify the benefits of natural recovery versus treatment oriented. An example provided of selective preventive interventions is critical incident stress debriefing which is used to prevent symptoms of PTSD in those who have undergone a traumatic event. A CISD session last 3-4 hours which is administered within 24-72 hours of the traumatic event. However, there is a possibility that there may be underlying harmful effects that occur in CISD sessions. Research has shown that using CISD, as a preventative measure for those at risk for developing PTSD, is ineffective at warding off PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, research also suggest that CISD has harmful long-term effects which is hypothesized to be caused by impeding the natural recovery process. A second example in Lilienfeld’s article of selective preventive interventions is “scared straight” programs aimed at reducing the likelihood of at-risk adolescents from falling into a life of crime. The premise of “scared straight” programs is frightening teens by exposing them to the harsh realities of prison life. Rather than helping at-risk teens, it instead found that the program resulted in a significant increase in arrest compared to those in no-treatment control …show more content…
Attempting to avoid any encounters with potentially harmful therapies should be at the pinnacle of any treatment. There should be a greater emphasis placed at the underlying mechanism that follows PHT’s. It is important to identify these PHT’s mechanisms, mainly to identify PHT’s, but also to determine whether all PHT’s have the same underlying mechanisms. It is extremely disturbing to know that the possibility of treatments exerting harmful effects has been observed within the last 70 years, yet there has not been extensive research in the area. As previously mentioned, clinicians are held to the standard that their care of clients is aimed at producing to harm. However, imposing a treatment on a client that has the possibility of yielding harmful effect goes against such standard. Any health care practitioner should be held to a standard level of care, thus practitioners who provide treatments that have been found to have harmful effects are not preforming to their standard level of care. Clients who seek treatment do so to improve and not deteriorate. Thankfully, research suggests that 3-6%/5-10% of clients become worse following psychotherapy. Particularly, those in substance abuse treatments have higher deteriorating rates. Properly identifying underlying mechanisms can aid in reducing these percentages altogether. However, these numbers are not accurate. Lilienfeld, suggest that there