In 2011, the Board of Directors of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) launched the Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice of Psychological Treatments to support and guide practice as well as to inform stakeholders. This article describes the work of this task force, outlining its raison d'être, providing a comprehensive definition of evidence-based practice (EBP), and advancing a hierarchy of evidence that is respectful of diverse research methodologies, palatable to different groups, and yet comprehensive and compelling. The primary objective was to present an overarching methodology or approach to thinking about EBP so that psychologists can provide and implement the best possible psychological treatments. To this end, our intention for this document was to provide a set of guidelines and standards that will foster interest, encourage development, and promote effectiveness in EBP.

Over these past years, German researchers have shown much interest for Costa and McCrae's five factor model as well as for their instrument: the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory . Nevertheless, results from a recent survey study using the German version of the NEO-FFI on a representative population sample (n = 1908) have reported problems to replicate the factor structure of the instrument. Insufficient psychometric indices of single items led to partly unsatisfactory scale values. A logical consequence of this was the development of a short version of the instrument with better psychometric properties. This article reports item and scale values of the NEO-FFI-30 for the German population sample. The five scales reach good internal consistency and are highly correlated with the original NEO-FFI scales. Furthermore, the influence of sociodemographic variables and correlations with the Giessentest appear to be very similar for both the original instrument and the short version. Moreover, the factor structure was replicated in an independent sample of 2508 adults. Results confirm the reliability, and factor and construct validity of this economic instrument without any significant loss in information.

Research indicates that virtual reality is effective in the treatment of many psychological difficulties and is being used more frequently. However, little is known about therapists' perception of the benefits and costs related to the use of virtual therapy in treatment delivery. In the present study, 271 therapists completed an online questionnaire that assessed their perceptions about the potential benefits and costs of using virtual reality in psychotherapy. Results indicated that therapists perceived the potential benefits as outweighing the potential costs. Therapists' self-reported knowledge of virtual reality, theoretical orientation, and interest in using virtual reality were found to be associated with perceptual measures. These findings contribute to the current knowledge of the perception of virtual reality amongst psychotherapists.

This study examines the changes in counselor self-efficacy beliefs during training. For this purpose, the Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE), based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory (1986), was employed (Larson et al.,1992). Both global counselor self-efficacy measures as well as specific measures related to five areas of counseling (i.e., micro skills, process, handling difficult client behaviors, cultural competence, and awareness of values) were analyzed. A total of 20 first-year MA students in counseling psychology completed the COSE at two time intervals 8 weeks apart. Results show a significant increase in the overall measure of self-efficacy skills. We also found a significant increase in one of the factors, micro skills. Implications for training and supervision are discussed.