Recently, people commenting on this blog have noted the tediousness of the cut-and-pasted attacks on me and on certain colleagues. Why are these attacks happening? What's the explanation of these detractors?
I can't give a full explanation of this matter, as I have no certain knowledge about the individuals posting those identical and sometimes ungrammatical comments. Their style is familiar, as it seems the same people were involved in similar attacks on Wikipedia, and more recently on Amazon book reviews.
What I can do, however, is to provide a bibliography for anyone who is interested enough to follow up on this matter. The history is that I (sometimes alone, sometimes with colleagues) have criticized the use of certain treatments and questioned research reports that claimed evidentiary support for those or similar treatments. One of my co-authors was Monica Pignotti, and her involvement with certain articles (one of which was short-listed for the Pro Humanitate award) is no doubt why she has been made the target of attack posts.
Here are the relevant references. I am sorry that they are not all available electronically, but I have given Internet information where I can. Some can be Googled.
Chaffin, M. et al. (2006). Report of the APSAC Task Force on Attachment Therapy, Reactive Attachment Disorder, and Attachment Problems. Child Maltreatment, 11(1), 78-89. (See also letters in subsequent issue.) (available on line).
Mercer, J., Sarner, L., & Rosa, L. (2003). Attachment Therapy on Trial: The torture and death of Candace Newmaker. Westport, CT: Praeger. (see also reviews in Scientific American, PsycCritique, and Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice.)
Mercer, J. (2003). Violent therapies: The rationale behind a potentially harmful child psychotherapy and its acceptance by parents. Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 2(1), 27-37.
Mercer, J. (2003). Media Watch: Radio and television programs approve of Coercive Restraint Therapies. Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 2(2). (see also letters in subsequent issues).
Mercer, J. (2005). Coercive Restraint Therapies: A dangerous alternative mental health intervention. Medscape General Medicine, 7(3). http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/508956. (See also letters in subsequent issues.)
Mercer, J. (2006). Understanding attachment: Parenthood, child care, and emotional development. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Mercer, J. (2007). Media Watch: Wikipedia and "open source" mental health information. Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 5 (1), 88-92.
Mercer, J., Pennington, R., Pignotti, M., & Rosa, L. (2009). Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is not ‘evidence-based': Comments in response to Becker-Weidman and Hughes. Child and Family Social Work. http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1356-7500.
Mercer, J., & Pignotti, M. (2007). Shortcuts cause errors in Systematic Research Syntheses: Rethinking evaluation of mental health interventions. Scientific Review of mental Health Practice, 5(2), 59-77.
Pignotti, M., & Mercer, J. (2007). Holding Therapy and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy are not supported, acceptable social work interventions: A systematic research synthesis revisited. Research on Social Work Practice, 17(4), 513-519.
These materials should give readers some idea of the published statements that triggered the animosity apparent in many of the comments posted here. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
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