NEWS & UPDATES
Press & Media
The Center for Psychotherapy Safety is available for expert commentary, interviews, and background on psychotherapy safety issues. For media inquiries, please contact us at info@psychotherapysafety.org.
About the Center for Psychotherapy Safety
The Center for Psychotherapy Safety (CPS) is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to making psychotherapy safer through evidence-based education, consumer empowerment, and professional development. Founded in 2025, CPS translates psychotherapy research into accessible resources for consumers, clinicians, and policymakers.
All CPS resources are designed for review by our Scientific Advisory Council and graded using a transparent four-tier evidence framework.
Key Facts
Media are welcome to use the above information in articles and reports. Please attribute to “Center for Psychotherapy Safety” or “CPS.”
Story Angles & Key Messages
Evidence-based angles for reporting on psychotherapy safety.
The Detection Gap
Most therapists genuinely want to help, but identifying when a client is deteriorating is harder than it seems. Without structured feedback tools, subtle signs of worsening can go unnoticed.
A small proportion
Therapists relying on clinical judgment without standardized feedback identify only a small proportion of clients who are deteriorating in treatment.
Hannan et al., 2005
Making Therapy Safer
A meaningful minority of therapy clients experience deterioration during treatment. Understanding rates of negative outcomes is the first step toward preventing them.
5–10%
Deterioration rates are often reported in the single digits, though estimates vary by population, measurement approach, and service context.
Lambert, 2013
Feedback That Works
Routine outcome monitoring gives therapists real-time data about how clients are progressing, enabling early course corrections before problems become entrenched.
~50% reduction
Routine outcome monitoring has been associated with lower rates of deterioration among not-on-track clients, with some studies reporting reductions on the order of ~50% in that subgroup.
Lambert & Shimokawa, 2011
The Alliance Factor
The therapeutic relationship is one of the most consistent predictors of therapy outcomes, regardless of the specific techniques used.
295 studies
A meta-analysis of 295 studies confirmed the therapeutic alliance as a robust predictor of outcomes across many theoretical orientations.
Flückiger et al., 2018
Downloadable Assets
Resources for journalists and media professionals.
CPS Logo Package
Full-color and monochrome logos in SVG, PNG, and EPS formats.
CPS Fact Sheet
One-page overview of CPS mission, programs, and key statistics.
Executive Director Bio
Professional biography and headshot for media use.
Key Statistics One-Pager
Evidence-based statistics on psychotherapy safety with citations.
Our Media Commitments
- •We cite primary sources for every claim and clearly distinguish between strong evidence and emerging findings.
- •We do not make sensationalized claims about therapy being “dangerous.” Therapy is effective for most people—our work focuses on making it even safer.
- •We welcome fact-checking requests and will provide primary sources for any statistic or claim we publish.
- •We are available for background conversations and on-the-record interviews with reasonable lead time.
- •We respect the privacy and dignity of therapy clients in all communications and never share identifiable case information.