Psychological treatments: Putting evidence into practice and practice into evidence.

Abstract

In June 2011, the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Board of Directors launched a task force on the evidencebased practice of psychological treatments. The purpose of this task force was to operationalize what constitutes evidence-based practice in psychological treatment, to make recommendations about how psychologists can best integrate evidence into practice, and to disseminate information to consumers about evidence-based interventions. An important impetus for this task force was the continuing and widening scientist-practitioner gap. There are both barriers and opportunities when it comes to promoting greater reliance on the scientific literature and greater uptake of empirically supported treatments among practitioners. Two main factors prevail. For one, there is considerable controversy over what constitutes best evidence. The second is that researchers often do not communicate their findings in a manner that effectively translates their results from the laboratory to the clinic. It is crucial that we not only make practice evidence-based but also make evidence practice-based. In this article, I focus on current issues and opportunities with respect to evidencebased practice and identify strategies for closing the gap between research and practice.

Scientific and social challenges for clinical psychology

“…For instance, is behavioral-cognitive therapy effective for a 50-year-old married woman with higher education, addicted to alcohol and also diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder? It is becoming increasingly obvious to experts that various sources of information should be used in such a situation in order to find out if a particular treatment method is effective (Dozois, 2013). Experts of the EBP team of APA did not define the concept of evidence in psychological counseling and psychotherapy; therefore, experts and scholars in many countries develop their own hierarchies of evidence value of studies on psychotherapy effectiveness in specific cases.…”

Naukowe i społeczne wyzwania dla psychologii klinicznej

“…Na przykład, czy skuteczna jest terapia poznawczo-behawioralna dla 50-letniej uzależnionej od alkoholu kobiety z wykształceniem wyższym, pozostającej w związku małżeńskim, u której występuje także narcystyczne zaburzenie osobowości? Wśród ekspertów staje się coraz bardziej oczywiste, że w takiej sytuacji należy skorzystać z różnych źródeł informacji, żeby stwierdzić, czy konkretna metoda leczenia jest skuteczna (Dozois, 2013). Eksperci zespołu EBP APA nie zdefiniowali pojęcia dowodu w poradnictwie psychologicznym i psychoterapii, dlatego w różnych krajach eksperci i naukowcy tworzą własne hierarchie mocy dowodzenia badań nad skutecznością psychoterapii w konkretnych przypadkach.…”

Evidence-Based Brief Psychological Treatment for Emotional Disorders in Primary and Specialized Care: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Despite the importance of evaluating the efficacy of psychological treatments (Moriana et al, 2017; Gálvez-Lara et al, 2018), the knowledge of the empirical research’s results and its later integration by the professional in the clinical practice does not get to consolidate completely in the applied fields (Herbert, 2003; Kazdin, 2008, 2011; Barlow et al, 2013). In this line, some studies have evidenced that psychologist, often, do not use evidence-based treatment (Lilienfeld, 2010; Dobson and Beshai, 2013; Dozois, 2013). At other times, psychologists do not use all the key elements of evidence-based treatment (Stobie et al, 2007).…”