Parent support groups are often echo chambers that spread low-quality information and silence clinicians.

Cognitive dissonance and sunk-cost thinking drive hostility toward scientists who challenge misinformation.

Costly "coaching" programs fill the gap left by weak evidence and exploit vulnerable families.

Every day I read through Facebook threads in parent support groups devoted to serious childhood mental health challenges, such as pathological demand avoidance (PDA), disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), and more. These groups exist because parents are exhausted, frightened, and failed by a mental health system that moves too slowly and often lacks the clinical expertise to help their child.

That need is real, but these groups are structured in a way that promotes misinformation, and the harm to children can no longer be overlooked.

A parent posts about a struggle with their child. But much of the advice that follows runs counter to well-established, evidence-based interventions, and some of the advice can be downright harmful. I reply, politely, citing clinical best practices, but within minutes the harsh responses begin: "You've obviously never met a child with PDA," or "I trust my own gut before your 'so-called' science." A group administrator messages me that I am "upsetting the group members" and a day or two later, I’m removed.

An echo chamber reinforces beliefs through repeated contact with people and information that already agree with them. An analysis of over 100 million posts across multiple social media sites found this same pattern on every platform (Cinelli et al., 2021).

Confirmation bias occurs when we notice information confirming what we already believe and discount what contradicts it (Nickerson, 1998). Layered on top is conformity pressure: in Solomon Asch's famous experiments, participants went along with an obviously wrong group answer on roughly a third of trials (Asch, 1956). That pressure produces conformity bias, where people don't just comply outwardly but actually come to believe the group's position is correct—driven by wanting to fit in and by assuming the group must know something they don't (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955).

What Happens When a Clinician Pushes Back

Another psychological effect that drives these hostile responses is cognitive dissonance. Questioning a so-called "neurodiversity coach" the group already aligns with doesn't just contradict a fact—it implies a parent's past choices might not have been the best and could possibly even be harmful. Holding on to "I did everything right" while also considering "maybe I didn't" results in an unbearable tension. Leon Festinger's........

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