We showed that most “improvements” could not rule out the placebo and other nonspecific effects (construct validity) or there were too many weaknesses in the way the studies were conducted to draw sound conclusions (internal validity).
tMay Manzur, Unsplash.com
I recently read a thorough review about the effectiveness of Dolphin
Assisted Therapy (DAT) by Lori Marino and the late Scott Lilienfeld,
and was greatly impressed with the detailed analyses these experts
conducted on a large number of studies on DAT. Marino and Lilienfeld
concluded the DAT literature continues to be marked by several
weaknesses in both internal and construct validity that preclude
confident inferences regarding the intervention's efficacy and there
is still insufficient evidence that DAT has therapeutic value.
I'm pleased to offer this guest essay by Lori Marino about this most
important study.
Please read the ENTIRE INTERVIEW HERE (PDF).