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[Audio] Examples of Psychological Treatments that Could be Harmful

Andrzej Wilusz, 123rf stock photo

The majority of people who go to see a mental health professional end up saying they feel better afterwards, which is great news, so then does it even matter which techniques are being used if anything will help? This is an argument that pops up in psychology circles where some believe technique doesn't matter and therapists should just do what they feel is right, says Dr. Michael Bordieri of the Murray State Psychology Department. On Sounds Good, Tracy Ross speaks with Dr. Bordieri on why he disagrees with this approach and gives some examples of psychological treatments that have led to harmful results.

Dr. Michael Bordieri trains his students to understand that science supported treatments should be used. He cites a paper by Scott Lilienfeld that highlights "potentially harmful therapies." This isn't to say that these therapies have never been helpful, he makes clear, as some of these treatments could have led to positive results, but that the data shows that these treatments tend to be unhelpful.

A popular one a decade ago was the idea of recovered memories - that childhood memories of abuse get repressed and that a therapist could get a client to suddenly and spontaneously remember those past events. This is a controversial treatment, he says, because while there's no evidence that all recovered memories are false, there's a solid body of evidence suggesting that helping people recover memories or insisting that there must be something that they're forgetting often leads to false memories and false allegations of abuse.

He says there are several examples of people recovering a memory of abuse, accusing someone, then ruining their lives or sending them to jail - and then later it turns out that there was nothing suggesting that the event even happened and evidence making it clear that it couldn't have possibly happened. This is an example, he says, of a technique that sounds good and sounds like it's based in solid psychology but wound up being harmful: falsely accusing people and taking away from treatments that could help people coming in with problems. In some instances, recovering these memories caused distress for the person who recovered them and led them to stress and thoughts about suicide.

Another example is the "scared straight" intervention and "boot camps." This is where kids who are on the path towards juvenile hall spend a day with serious criminals at the penitentiary. While this sounds like it could work, data doesn't support this. Some studies have found that the kids will go on and re-offend or become more likely to commit future crimes. What makes for great television doesn't always make for the best techniques that we know of to help people make changes in their lives, Dr. Bordieri says. Boot camps have mixed evidence of effectiveness, but there are situations where kids are dying or falling ill from dehydration and being pushed beyond their limits. It's not clear how boot camps help. He says how programs work and how they help is an important question to ask.

Dr. Bordieri recommends asking a therapist for their credentials, for their education and education over time. A licensed psychologist ensures that they at least have a certain level of education. Life coaches and therapists don't necessarily need to be licensed. There are no regulations or standards on what their trainings are or their techniques.

Tracy started working for WKMS in 1994 while attending Murray State University. After receiving his Bachelors and Masters degrees from MSU he was hired as Operations/Web/Sports Director in 2000. Tracy hosted All Things Considered from 2004-2012 and has served as host/producer of several music shows including Cafe Jazz, and Jazz Horizons. In 2001, Tracy revived Beyond The Edge, a legacy alternative music program that had been on hiatus for several years. Tracy was named Program Director in 2011 and created the midday music and conversation program Sounds Good in 2012 which he hosts Monday-Thursday. Tracy lives in Murray with his wife, son and daughter.
Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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