Selecting the most appropriate treatment for each patient

Abstract

Reviews the emergence of research on fitting treatment procedures to the unique needs and proclivities of patients. Traditional research on efficacy of psychotherapy focuses on the role of interventions and theoretical brands, minimizing factors that cannot be randomly assigned. This line of research has not realized its initial and desired promise, perhaps because it fails to incorporate into the study of psychotherapy important and effective treatment variations that are associated with therapist and non-diagnostic patient factors. Contemporary efforts to “fit” treatments to patients emphasize the roles of interventions, participant factors, and contextual/relationship factors. For these complex interactions, any of which reflect factors that cannot be randomly assigned, randomized clinical trials (RCT) protocols are inappropriate as a “gold standard”. Several studies are presented which illustrate not only the predictive power of incorporating both treatment mediators and moderators into the realm of psychotherapy study, but the value of a multi-method approach to research. Converging studies moreover, provide a way to incorporate matching algorithms into decisions about assigning optimal treatments.

Evidence comes by replication, but needs differentiation: the reproducibility issue in science and its relevance for criminology

“…Many programs are based on sound social learning or criminological theories (Bonta and Andrews 2017). Others apply more differentiated, eclectic, and case-oriented approaches to treatment that are supported by general research on psychotherapy (e.g., Beutler et al 2016). The processes of individual change are more complex than the typical 3-5 group trajectories of correlational studies in developmental criminology (Jennings and Reingle 2012).…”

Cuestionario de Estilo Personal del Terapeuta: análisis factorial confirmatorio de modelos rivales con psicoterapeutas argentinos

“…Entonces, los debates actuales no están centrados en demostrar la eficacia de la psicoterapia sino en tratar de comprender cómo se produce el cambio en los pacientes, cuáles son los principios responsables de los resultados de tratamiento, cómo operan los moderadores y mediadores del cambio y, qué factores tiene mayor peso en el éxito terapéutico (Beutler, Someah, Kimpara, y Miller, 2016;Heinonen, 2014;Moldovan y Pintea, 2015;Sánchez-Bahíllo, Aragón-Alonso, Sánchez-Bahíllo, y Birtle, 2014;Wampold y Imel, 2015). Entre los factores que se han sugerido, se encuentran las técnicas específicas, alianza terapéutica, variables del terapeuta y pacientes.…”

Neuroimaging in cockroach phobia: An experimental study

“…This study was designed with these methodological requirements in order to avoid the heterogeneity of data obtained in previous studies. Apart from taking into account patients’ treatment preferences ( Cooper & Norcross, 2016 ), as Beutler, Someah, Kimpara, and Miller (2016) pointed out, a multi-method approach is needed to increase the accuracy in selecting the best psychological treatment. In this regard, knowing which nuclei of the brain are related to fear can be a predominant step to improve the strategies aimed at eliminating its pathological learning ( Ávila & Fullana, 2016 ).…”