Beyond the "Psychological Placebo": Specifying the Nonspecific in Psychotherapy

Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice

Volumn 18, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 113-118

  Bjornsson, Andri S ^a  

^a BROWN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Interaction; Nonspecific factors; Psychotherapy; Specific factors

Indexed keywords

EID: 79958760290     PISSN: 09695893     EISSN: 14682850     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2850.2011.01242.x     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. Arkowitz, H. (1992). Integrative theories of therapy. In D. K. Freedheim (Ed.), History of psychotherapy: A century of change (pp. 261-303). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
2. Barlow, D. H. (2010). The dodo bird - again - and again. The Behavior Therapist, 33, 15-16. Retrieved from
3. Barlow, D. H., Allen, L. B., & Choate, M. L. (2004). Toward a unified treatment for emotional disorders. Behavior Therapy, 35, 205-230.
4. Baskin, T. W., Tierney, S. C., Minami, T., & Wampold, B. E. (2003). Establishing specificity in psychotherapy: A meta-analysis of structural equivalence of placebo controls. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 973-979.
5. Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.
6. Bird, A. (1998). Philosophy of science. London: UCL Press.
7. Bjornsson, A. (2009). Specific and non-specific factors in the cognitive-behavioral group therapy of college students with social anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Science and Engineering, 70, (7-B). (UMI No. 3366579).
8. Chambless, D. L., Baker, M. J., Baucom, D. H., Beutler, L. E., Calhoun, K. S., Crits-Christoph, P., et al. (1998). Update on empirically validated therapies, II. The Clinical Psychologist, 51, 3-16.
9. Craighead, W. E., Sheets, E. S., Bjornsson, A. S., & Arnarson, E. O. (2005). Specificity and nonspecificity in psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 12, 189-193.
10. DeRubeis, R. J., Brotman, M. A., & Gibbons, C. J. (2005). A conceptual and methodological analysis of the nonspecifics argument. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 12, 174-183.
11. Erwin, E. (1997). Philosophy and psychotherapy: Razing the troubles of the brain. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage.
12. Fairburn, C. G., Cooper, Z., & Shafran, R. (2003). Cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders: A 'transdiagnostic' theory and treatment. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 41, 509-528.
13. Goldfried, M. (1991). Research issues in psychotherapy integration. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 1, 5-25.
14. Heimberg, R. G., & Becker, R. E. (2002). Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social phobia: Basic mechanisms and clinical strategies. New York: Guilford Press.
15. Heimberg, R. G., Dodge, C. S., Hope, D. A., Kennedy, C. R., Zollo, L., & Becker, R. E. (1990). Cognitive behavioral group treatment of social phobia: Comparison to a credible placebo control. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 1-23.
16. Heimberg, R. G., Liebowitz, M. R., Hope, D. A., Schneier, F. R., Holt, C. S., Welkowitz, L. A., et al. (1998). Cognitive behavioral group therapy vs. phenelzine therapy for social phobia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55, 1133-1141. Retrieved from
17. Hofmann, S., & Lohr, J. (2010). To kill a dodo bird. The Behavior Therapist, 33, 14-15. Retrieved from
18. Hope, D. A., Heimberg, R. G., & Turk, C. L. (2010). Managing social anxiety: A cognitive-behavioral approach. Therapist guide (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
19. Ilardi, S. S., & Craighead, W. E. (1994). The role of nonspecific factors in cognitive therapy for depression. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 1, 138-156.
20. Leahey, T. H. (2000). A history of psychology: Main currents in psychological thought (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
21. Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
22. Phillips, K. A. (2009). Understanding body dysmorphic disorder: An essential guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
23. Rachman, S. J., & Wilson, G. T. (1980). The effects of psychological therapy (2nd ed.). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
24. Safer, D. L., & Hugo, E. M. (2006). Designing a control for a behavioral group therapy. Behavior Therapy, 37, 120-130.
25. Siev, J., Huppert, J., & Chambless, D. (2010). Treatment specificity for panic disorder: A reply to Wampold, Imel, and Miller (2009). The Behavior Therapist, 33, 12-14. Retrieved from
26. Stevens, S. E., Hynan, M. T., & Allen, M. (2000). A meta-analysis of common factor and specific treatment effects across the outcome domains of the phase model of psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 7, 273-290.
27. Wampold, B. E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods and findings. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
28. Wampold, B. E., Imel, Z. E., & Miller, S. D. (2009). Barriers to the dissemination of empirically supported treatments: Matching messages to the evidence. The Behavior Therapist, 32, 140-155. Retrieved from