Editorial: Returning to Mechanisms in Psychological Therapies: Understand the Engine Before Steaming in

Many pivotal techniques from evidence-based psychological interventions for other disorders grew from basic research into mechanistic processes. Yet the past few decades have seen the field of psychological interventions drift away from its scientific roots. This year, the Lancet commission for improving psychological treatments (1) urged greater synergy between basic and clinical research, and integration with technology and physiological measures. This special section focuses on bringing a mechanistic focus to psychological therapies and showcases some of the most recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of psychological therapy across ten important theoretical and empirical contributions in the field.