Perspect Psychol Sci July 2014 PMID 26173271

Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness.

Scott O Lilienfeld, Lorie A Ritschel, Steven Jay Lynn, Robin L Cautin, Robert D Latzman

Download social card

Mentions

44
Peak: 6 in Feb 2020
across 7 sources since Jul 2014

Extended reach

199,767
potential audience

Total likes

1,692

Video views

57,470

Mentions per month

Jul 2014 – Aug 2025

Where it's discussed

  • X / Twitter22 posts
  • News9 articles
  • Reddit5 posts
  • Bluesky4 posts
  • YouTube2 videos
  • Facebook1 posts
  • Blogs1 articles

AI synopsis

What people are saying

The overall tone reflects genuine interest and respect for the article's relevance, evidenced by phrases like 'highlighted to me how important critical analysis is' and discussions about its historical and methodological significance. The use of academic references, links, and personal experiences demonstrates moderate depth of engagement, and the focus on understanding spurious effectiveness indicates the perceived importance of the work within scholarly and clinical contexts.

AgreementModerate agreement

Most discussions acknowledge the article's insights, with some explicitly referencing its connection to critical analysis in therapy practice.

InterestHigh interest

The discussions display high interest, especially among students and professionals, with mentions of re-reading, historical context, and scholarly perspectives.

EngagementModerate engagement

Posts show moderate engagement through sharing links, quoting passages, and debating methodological implications.

ImpactModerate impact

While influential within academic circles, the conversations focus on understanding and critique rather than immediate clinical implementation.

Abstract in brief

  • The article discusses why some psychotherapies appear effective even when they may not be, highlighting four cognitive biases—naive realism, confirmation bias, illusory causation, and the illusion of control—that lead clinicians to overestimate treatment success.
  • It introduces a taxonomy of 26 causes of spurious therapeutic effectiveness (CSTEs), categorized into three groups: perceived client change without real improvement, misinterpretations due to extratherapeutic factors, and misinterpretations from nonspecific treatment factors.
  • The paper emphasizes the importance of methodological safeguards and evidence-based practices to reduce these errors, improve clinical research, and bridge the gap between scientific understanding and everyday clinical practice.]

Top posts

Most liked on X and Bluesky
Fernando Blanco
@FBpsy · X

Para quien le interese, ahora que los tuits no se pueden ver. Aquí se cuenta cómo una psicoterapia no efectiva puede parecer que funciona. Por dar alguna idea. https://t.co/aCChSgmoCR

Dec 4, 2021 · 13 likes · 2 shares · 7,917 followers View post →
Daniel Low
@danielmlow · X

@paytonjjones So true. Have you read this? 26 causes of spurious therapeutic effectiveness: https://t.co/n9PPAq2vIF @toddkettner

Apr 23, 2020 · 10 likes · 1 share · 731 followers View post →
ɹǝʇlnoԀ pıʌɐᗡ
@Retlouping · X

Assuming your treatment works because....... “health professionals to assume that they can rely on informal clinical observations to infer whether treatments are effective.” Lessons from Psychotherapy that equally apply to PT https://t.co/p0zoxSGwMG https://t.co/iORMFs0zzg

Feb 21, 2020 · 8 likes · 4 shares · 26,406 followers View post →
Holly Jolly Hammersley PhD☃️❄️
@jhammersley.bsky.social · Bluesky

doing this now in a master's level course, introducing evidence based practice & therapy efficacy/effectiveness now starting with a bit of history. (and with weather based cancellations and my kids being home sick or on remote learning several days, sadly prob. not getting to one of yours)

Feb 6, 2025 · 6 likes · 2 shares View post →
ɹǝʇlnoԀ pıʌɐᗡ
@Retlouping · X

@DrHorwitz @AdamMeakins Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness https://t.co/p0zoxSGwMG https://t.co/jTvdTeraXZ

Feb 21, 2020 · 5 likes · 1 share · 26,406 followers View post →
Emily
@mirthfulvulture.bsky.social · Bluesky

Lilienfeld, (2014). Why ineffective psychotherapies appear to work: A taxonomy of causes of spurious therapeutic effectiveness.” - reading this during my honours year really highlighted to me how important critical analysis is - I still go back to it.

Feb 6, 2025 · 4 likes View post →

All mentions

CultivatedAnnihilation
@Cultivated_An · X

To address that prompt, and the cultural push for "everyone" to see a therapist, I read from the scholarly article “Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness." #help #therapy #psychology

Mar 27, 2025 View post →
Emily
@mirthfulvulture.bsky.social · Bluesky

Lilienfeld, (2014). Why ineffective psychotherapies appear to work: A taxonomy of causes of spurious therapeutic effectiveness.” - reading this during my honours year really highlighted to me how important critical analysis is - I still go back to it.

Feb 6, 2025 · 4 likes View post →
Holly Jolly Hammersley PhD☃️❄️
@jhammersley.bsky.social · Bluesky

doing this now in a master's level course, introducing evidence based practice & therapy efficacy/effectiveness now starting with a bit of history. (and with weather based cancellations and my kids being home sick or on remote learning several days, sadly prob. not getting to one of yours)

Feb 6, 2025 · 6 likes · 2 shares View post →
Steven R. Shaw, PhD
@shawpsych.bsky.social · Bluesky

Today's reading: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26173271/ This is a re-reading. It is more like organized contrarianism than a traditional review. But a lot of useful insights.

Jul 8, 2024 · 2 likes · 1 share View post →
Anwar
@AnwrKsa · X

RT @Ahmad_Alshayea: Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness - Scott O. L…

Jun 20, 2024 · 2 shares · 16,251 followers View post →
د. ماجد الهذلي
@malhothali · X

RT @Ahmad_Alshayea: Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness - Scott O. L…

Jun 20, 2024 · 2 shares · 11,812 followers View post →
أحمد كساب الشايع
@Ahmad_Alshayea · X

Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness - Scott O. Lilienfeld, Lorie A. Ritschel, Steven Jay Lynn, Robin L. Cautin, Robert D. Latzman, 2014 https://t.co/Oqg44KtNys

Jun 20, 2024 · 3 likes · 2 shares · 10,072 followers View post →
Tim Kaiser
@tkaiser.science · Bluesky

"Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness" https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691614535216

Jun 19, 2024 View post →
ɹǝʇlnoԀ pıʌɐᗡ
@Retlouping · X

RT @Retlouping: @DrHorwitz @AdamMeakins Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effect…

Jul 22, 2023 · 1 share · 26,406 followers View post →
Yudhistira Ghifari Adlani
@alephlove · X

@joarhalvorsen @tkaiser_science An article that correlated inversely with the one above! https://t.co/9nd8KyxT9c

May 28, 2023 · 1 like · 505 followers View post →
Yudhistira Ghifari Adlani
@alephlove · X

Another reason why it’s important to show when your particular denomination of psychotherapy doesn’t work is to also help tackle the problem of spurious therapeutic effectiveness. https://t.co/8WU1XEPrxO

Feb 23, 2023 · 1 like · 505 followers View post →
Sedat BATMAZ
@sedatbatmaz · X

RT @HengartnerMP: @wendyburn Yes, probably, but as a scientist I‘m also not seduced into believing that this is all my doing. We‘ll see. Cl…

Jan 13, 2022 · 1 share · 2,220 followers View post →
Michael P. Hengartner, PhD
@HengartnerMP · X

@wendyburn Yes, probably, but as a scientist I‘m also not seduced into believing that this is all my doing. We‘ll see. Clinical impression can be very misleading. This article is pertinent to our discussion, if you‘re interested: https://t.co/wyp9PQXcJE

Jan 13, 2022 · 3 likes · 1 share · 8,055 followers View post →
CZdogs
@CityZendogs · X

RT @FBpsy: Para quien le interese, ahora que los tuits no se pueden ver. Aquí se cuenta cómo una psicoterapia no efectiva puede parecer que…

Dec 5, 2021 · 2 shares · 1,219 followers View post →
Jiiyuu
@amcg1998 · X

RT @FBpsy: Para quien le interese, ahora que los tuits no se pueden ver. Aquí se cuenta cómo una psicoterapia no efectiva puede parecer que…

Dec 4, 2021 · 2 shares · 62 followers View post →
Fernando Blanco
@FBpsy · X

Para quien le interese, ahora que los tuits no se pueden ver. Aquí se cuenta cómo una psicoterapia no efectiva puede parecer que funciona. Por dar alguna idea. https://t.co/aCChSgmoCR

Dec 4, 2021 · 13 likes · 2 shares · 7,917 followers View post →
ANTO
@AntonellaNT18 · X

Acá dejo los otros links que me enviaron: https://t.co/v5zEY7p2oW https://t.co/jdHMeDaJRu

Dec 1, 2021 · 105 followers View post →
Kris Martens
@krismartens · X

@G_Mertens @andreastirez Sidenote: psychotherapie kan ook lijken te werken zonder dat het werkt https://t.co/i7WCJEQhJR

Sep 25, 2020 · 1 like · 1,070 followers View post →
Daniel Low
@danielmlow · X

@paytonjjones So true. Have you read this? 26 causes of spurious therapeutic effectiveness: https://t.co/n9PPAq2vIF @toddkettner

Apr 23, 2020 · 10 likes · 1 share · 731 followers View post →
JJ
@ferguson_jj · X

RT @Retlouping: Assuming your treatment works because....... “health professionals to assume that they can rely on informal clinical observ…

Feb 21, 2020 · 4 shares · 158 followers View post →
Ammar Suhail, PT
@suhailphysio89 · X

RT @Retlouping: Assuming your treatment works because....... “health professionals to assume that they can rely on informal clinical observ…

Feb 21, 2020 · 4 shares · 671 followers View post →
Daniel Godeassi
@dangodeassi · X

RT @Retlouping: Assuming your treatment works because....... “health professionals to assume that they can rely on informal clinical observ…

Feb 21, 2020 · 4 shares · 201 followers View post →
Luis
@RoCo1796 · X

RT @Retlouping: Assuming your treatment works because....... “health professionals to assume that they can rely on informal clinical observ…

Feb 21, 2020 · 4 shares · 315 followers View post →
ɹǝʇlnoԀ pıʌɐᗡ
@Retlouping · X

Assuming your treatment works because....... “health professionals to assume that they can rely on informal clinical observations to infer whether treatments are effective.” Lessons from Psychotherapy that equally apply to PT https://t.co/p0zoxSGwMG https://t.co/iORMFs0zzg

Feb 21, 2020 · 8 likes · 4 shares · 26,406 followers View post →
ɹǝʇlnoԀ pıʌɐᗡ
@Retlouping · X

@DrHorwitz @AdamMeakins Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work: A Taxonomy of Causes of Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness https://t.co/p0zoxSGwMG https://t.co/jTvdTeraXZ

Feb 21, 2020 · 5 likes · 1 share · 26,406 followers View post →
Jessica Spencer Castner
@DrCastner · X

@bernmelnyk Great question! Respectfully, rather than focusing on trying to retrain how individual thinks/reacts, consider priority in scholarly activity focusing on policy interventions, reform that empower & incorporate perspectives & ideas from those at risk. https://t.co/QzhGzK4t3K

Jun 11, 2019 · 1 like · 971 followers View post →
Pseudoscience in Therapy. A Skeptical Field Guide (Stephen Hupp ...
News

https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614535216. Lourida, I., Hannon, E., Littlejohns, T. J., Langa, K. M., Hyppönen, E., Kuzma, E., & Llewellyn, D. J. (2019) ...

Dec 12, 2025 View →
Ineffective Psychotherapy Myths | PDF | Psychology
News

DOI: 10.1177/1745691614535216. Spurious Therapeutic Effectiveness

Dec 12, 2025 View →
Applied Cognitive Psychology - 2022 - García Arch - Disproven But ...
News

https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614535216 Sanford, N. N., Sher, D. J., Ahn, C., Aizer, A. A., & Mahal, B. A. (2019). Preva- Lindeman, M., & Svedholm, A. M. ...

Dec 12, 2025 View →
APS Position Statement EBP and PBE in Psychology (2022) | PDF ...
News

https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614535216 McPherson, S., Wicks, C. & Tercelli, I. (2020). Patient experiences of psychological therapy for depression: A ...

Dec 12, 2025 View →
Orthophonie Identite Professionnelle Et Expertise Juin2024 | PDF
News

https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614535216. Lockwood Estrin G., Milner V., Spain D., Happé F., & Colvert E. (2021), “Barriers to Autism Spectrum Disorder ...

Dec 12, 2025 View →
1.ethics in Psychology and The Mental Health Professions ...
News

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691614535216 therapy. American Psychologist, 37, Lohr, J. M., Hooke, W., Gist, R., & Tolin, D. F. (2003). 788–801. doi ...

Dec 12, 2025 View →
Evidence-Based Practice and Psychological Treatments: The ...
News

10.1177/1745691614535216. Cuijpers, P. (2016). Are all psychotherapies equally effective in the treatment Marcus, D. K., O'Connell, D., Norris, A. L., and ...

Dec 12, 2025 View →
Question about the Body keeps the score? : r/askpsychology
Reddit

Perspect Psychol Sci. 2014 Jul;9(4):355-87. doi: 10.1177/1745691614535216. PMID: 26173271. askpsychology-ModTeam. МОДЕРАТОР • 4 мес. назад •.

Aug 9, 2025 View →
คำถามเกี่ยวกับหนังสือ "The Body Keeps the Score" ใช่ไหม? : r ...
Reddit

... Jul;9(4):355-87. doi: 10.1177/1745691614535216. PMID: 26173271. รูปโปรไฟล์ u/askpsychology-ModTeam · askpsychology-ModTeam. ผู้ดูแล • 1 เดือนที่ ...

Aug 9, 2025 View →
Question about the Body keeps the score? : r/askpsychology
Reddit

... Effectiveness. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2014 Jul;9(4):355-87. doi: 10.1177/1745691614535216. PMID: 26173271. askpsychology-ModTeam. MOD • 3mo ago •.

Aug 9, 2025 View →
बॉडी की स्कोर के बारे में सवाल? : r/askpsychology - Reddit
Reddit

doi: 10.1177/1745691614535216. PMID: 26173271. u/askpsychology-ModTeam अवतार · askpsychology-ModTeam. मॉडरेटर • 3 माह पहले ...

Aug 9, 2025 View →
Frage zu „Verkörperter Schrecken“? : r/askpsychology
Reddit

2014 Jul;9(4):355-87. doi: 10.1177/1745691614535216. PMID: 26173271. Avatar von u/askpsychology-ModTeam. askpsychology-ModTeam. MOD • vor 3 ...

Aug 9, 2025 View →
A new blog by Drs. Quintner and Cohen. - Facebook
Facebook

doi: 10.1177/1745691614535216. 1 yr. 5. Alexander Egebak. John Quintner It is hard to integrate critical thinking into one's practice AFTER the ...

Apr 23, 2024 View →
Slim Chance For Permanent Weight Loss: Archives of Scientific ...
News

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691614535216 Weight loss attempts in adults: Goals, duration, and rate of weight loss. Mann, T., Tomiyama ...

Aug 25, 2018 View →
Lacot 2017 Syndrome Shankly PREPRINT | PDF
News

http://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614535216. Nicolas, S., & Gounden, Y. (2010). La mémoire d ' une information distinctive : l '. influence de l ...

Jun 4, 2017 View →
July | 2014 | Persuasion Blog
Blogs

Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9: 355. DOI: 10.1177/1745691614535216. This entry was posted in HowTo on July 29, 2014 by Steve Booth ...

Jul 31, 2014 View →