https://doi.org/10.4081/rp.2021.261
Efficacy of Psychotherapeutic Treatments: Research Based on Clinical Practice
Submitted: March 4, 2020
Accepted: July 29, 2020
Published: August 26, 2021
Accepted: July 29, 2020
Abstract Views: 4806
PDF (Italiano): 520
PDF: 353
PDF: 353
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
This article examines the relationship between psychotherapy research and clinical practice. Despite research advances in the last twenty years, there are still numerous obstacles to overcome for the dissemination of this topic. For this purpose, we will highlight the differences between evidence-based research, aimed at determining which therapeutic treatment is more effective for different psychiatric disorders, and practice-based research, which intends to obtain results that are more similar to daily professional practice, by focusing on aspects such as the therapeutic relationship, patient and therapist characteristics and contextual factors. It is possible to create a clinical practice that is not disconnected from scientific evidence regarding various aspects of therapeutic work. Lastly, I will highlight how psychodynamic treatments have shown evidence of effectiveness that makes them comparable to other types of treatments, even though the complexity of studying the therapeutic relationship in such a setting needs more work in order to integrate quantitative and qualitative research.
Abbass, A. A., Hancock, J. T., Henderson, J., & Kisely, S. (2006). Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapies for common mental disorders. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 4, Article No. CD004687.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004687.pub3
Baldwin, S. A., & Imel, Z. E. (2013). Therapist effects: Findings and methods. In M. J. Lambert (Ed.), Bergin and Garfield"s Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (6th ed., pp. 258-297). New York, NY: Wiley.
Barkham, M., Stiles, W. B., Lambert, M. J., & Mellor-Clark, J. (2010). Building a rigorous and relevant knowledge-base for the psychological therapies. In M. Barkham, G. E. Hardy, & J. Mellor-Clark (Eds.), Developing and delivering practice-based evidence: A guide for the psychological therapies (pp. 21-61).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470687994.ch2
Barkham, M., Lutz, W., Lambert, M. J., & Saxon, D. (2017). Therapist effects, effective therapists, and the law of variability. In L. G. Castonguay & C. E. Hill (Eds.), How and why are some therapists better than others?: Understanding therapist effects (pp. 13-36). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0000034-002
Beutler, L. E., Malik, M., Alimohamed, S., Harwood, T. M., Talebi, H., Noble, S., & Wong, E. (2004). Therapist variables. In M. J. Lambert (Ed.), Bergin and Garfield's handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (5th ed., pp. 227-306). New York, NY: John Wiley & Son.
Del Corno, F., Lo Coco G. (2018). Disegni di ricerca in psicologia clinica. Milano: Franco Angeli.
Castonguay, L. G., Barkham, M., Lutz, W., & McAleavy, A. (2013). Practice oriented research: Approaches and applications. In M. J. Lambert (Ed.), Bergin & Garfield"s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (6th ed., pp. 85-133). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Castonguay, L. G., Eubanks, C. F., Goldfried, M. R., Muran, J. C., & Lutz, W. (2015). Research on psychotherapy integration: Building on the past, looking to the future. Psychotherapy Research, 25, 365-382.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2015.1014010
Castonguay, L. G., & Hill, C. E. (2017). How and why are some therapists better than others?: Understanding therapist effects. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0000034-000
Castonguay, L. G., & Muran, J. C. (2015). Fostering collaboration between researchers and clinicians through building practice-oriented research: An introduction. Psychotherapy Research, 25, 1-5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2014.966348
Cologon, J., Schweitzer, R. D., King, R., Nolte, T. J. A., Health, P. I. M., & Research, M. H. S. (2017). Therapist Reflective Functioning, Therapist Attachment Style and Therapist Effectiveness. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 44(5), 614-625.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0790-5
De Smet, M. M., Meganck, R., De Geest, R., Norman, U. A., Truijens, F., & Desmet, M. (2019). What "Good Outcome" Means to Patients: Understanding Recovery and Improvement in Psychotherapy for Major Depression From a Mixed-Methods Perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology. Advance online publication.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000362
Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., & Horvath, A. O. (2018). The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 316-340.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000172
Goldfried, M. R. (2018). Obtaining Consensus in Psychotherapy: What Holds Us Back?. American Psychologist, 74, 484-496.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000365
Goldman, R. E., Hilsenroth, M. J., Gold, J. R., Owen, J. J., & Levy, S. R. (2018). Psychotherapy integration and alliance: An examination across treatment outcomes. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 28, 14-30.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000060
Katz, M., & Hilsenroth, M. J. (2018). Psychodynamic technique early in treatment related to outcome for depressed patients. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 25, 348-358.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2167
Katz, M., Hilsenroth, M. J., Gold, J. R., Moore, M., Pitman, S. R., Levy, S. R., Owen, J. (2019). Adherence, Flexibility, and Outcome in Psychodynamic Treatment of Depression. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(1), 94-103.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000299
Kazdin, A. E. (2008). Evidence-based treatment and practice: New opportunities to bridge clinical research and practice, enhance the knowledge base, and improve patient care. American Psychologist, 63, 146-159.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.3.146
Kazdin, A. E. (2017). Addressing the treatment gap: a key challenge for extending evidence-based psychosocial interventions. Behavior Research and Therapy, 88, 7-18.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2016.06.004
Keefe J.R., McCarthy K.S., Dinger U, Zilcha-Mano S., Barber J.P. (2014). A meta-analytic review of psychodynamic therapies for anxiety disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, 34, 309-323.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2014.03.004
Kivlighan D.M. III, Goldberg, S.B., Abbas, M., Pace, B.T., Yulish, N.E., Thomas, J.G., Cullen, M.M., Flückiger, C., Wampold, B.E. (2015). The enduring effects of psychodynamic treatments vis-à-vis alternative treatments: A multilevel longitudinal meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 40, 1-14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.05.003
Lambert, M. J., & Ogles, B. M. (2013). The efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy. In M. J. Lambert (Ed.), Bergin and Garfield's handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (pp. 169-218) (6th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Laska, K. M., Gurman, A. S., & Wampold, B. E. (2014). Expanding the Lens of Evidence-Based Practice in Psychotherapy: A Common Factors Perspective. Psychotherapy, 51, 467-481.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034332
Leichsenring, F., & Rabung, S. (2008). Effectiveness of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 300, 1551-1565.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.300.13.1551
Leichsenring, F., Luyten, P., Hilsenroth, M. J., Abbass, A., Barber, J. P., Keefe, J. R., . . . Steinert, C. (2015). Psychodynamic therapy meets evidence-based medicine: a systematic review using updated criteria. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2, 648-660.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00155-8
Leichsenring, F., Abbass, A., Hilsenroth, M.J., Luyten, P., Munder, T., Rabung, S., Steinert, C. (2018). "Gold Standards," Plurality and Monocultures: The Need for Diversity in Psychotherapy. Frontiers in Psychiatry 9:159.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00159
Leuzinger-Bohleber, M., Kaufhold, J., Kallenbach, L., Negele, A., Ernst, M., Keller, W., ….Beutel, M. (2019). How to measure sustained psychic transformations in long-term treatments of chronically depressed patients: Symptomatic and structural changes in the LAC Depression Study of the outcome of cognitive-behavioural and psychoanalytic long-term treatments. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 100, 99-127.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207578.2018.1533377
Levy, R.A., Ablon, J.S., Kachele, H. (2015). La psicoterapia psicodinamica basata sulla ricerca. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
Lingiardi, V., Muzi, L., Tanzilli, A., & Carone, N. (2018). Do therapists" subjective variables impact on psychodynamic psychotherapy outcomes? A systematic literature review. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 25(1), 85-101.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2131
McWilliams, N. (2017). Integrative Research for Integrative Practice: A Plea for Respectful Collaboration Across Clinician and Researcher Roles. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 27, 283-295.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000054
Nathan, P. E., & Gorman, J. M. (Eds.) (2015). A guide to treatments that work (4th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/med:psych/9780195304145.001.0001
Norcross, J. C. (Ed.). (2002). Psychotherapy relationships that work: Therapist contributions and responsiveness to patient needs. New York: Oxford University Press.
Norcross, J. C., & Wampold, B. E. (2018). A new therapy for each patient: evidence-based relationships and responsiveness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74, 1889-1906.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22678
Norcross, J. C., & Wampold, B. E. (Eds.) (2019). Psychotherapy relationships that work (3rd ed., Vol. 2). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190843960.001.0001
Owen, J., & Hilsenroth, M. J. (2014). Treatment adherence: The importance of therapist flexibility in relation to therapy outcomes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61, 280-288.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035753
Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (2018). Systems of psychotherapy (9th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Steel, C., Macdonald, J., & Schroder, T. (2018). A Systematic Review of the Effect of Therapists" Internalized Models of Relationships on the Quality of the Therapeutic Relationship. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(1), 5-42.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22484
Stiles, W. B., & Horvath, A. O. (2017). Appropriate responsiveness as a contribution to therapist effects. In L. G. Castonguay & C. E. Hill (Eds.), How and why are some therapists better than others?: Understanding therapist effects (pp. 71-84). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0000034-005
Strauss, B. M., & Petrowski, K. (2017). The role of the therapist"s attachment in the process and outcome of psychotherapy. In L. G. Castonguay & C. E. Hill (Eds.), How and why are some therapists better than others?: Understanding therapist effects (pp. 117-138). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0000034-008
Tasca, G. A., Sylvestre, J., Balfour, L., Chyurlia, L., Evans, J., Fortin-Langelier, B., . . . Wilson, B. (2015). What clinicians want: Findings from a psychotherapy practice research network survey. Psychotherapy, 52(1), 1-11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038252
Turner, E. H., Matthews, A. M., Linardatos, E., Tell, R. A., & Rosenthal, R. (2008). Selective publication of antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy. New England Journal of Medicine, 358(3), 252-260.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa065779
Wampold, B. E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods, and findings. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203582015
Westen, D., Novotny, C. M., & Thompson-Brenner, H. (2004). The empirical status of empirically supported psychotherapies: Assump- tions, findings, and reporting in controlled clinical trials. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 631-663.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.631
How to Cite
Lo Coco, G. (2021). Efficacy of Psychotherapeutic Treatments: Research Based on Clinical Practice. Ricerca Psicoanalitica, 32(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/rp.2021.261
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Silvia Marchesini, Comment to the book ‘La terapia psicodinamica è efficace? Il dibattito e le evidenze empiriche’ , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 35 No. 2 (2024)
- Gianluca Lo Coco, Commentary on the Consensus Conference’s final document on psychological therapies for anxiety and depression. What is the scientific evidence? , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 34 No. 2 (2023)
- Daniele Morelli, Laura Corbelli, Creativity in psychotherapy as a ‘co-reflexive dialogue between acting subjects’: a clinical and theoretical proposal , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 35 No. 2 (2024)
- Simone Cheli, Italian guidelines on psychological therapies for anxiety and depression: innovation or missed opportunity? , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 34 No. 2 (2023)
- Luigi D'Elia, Towards a socially inspired psychotherapy , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 35 No. 1 (2024)
- Fabio Vanni, Luigi D’Elia, Carlotta Longhi, Giuseppe Cersosimo, Matteo Lima, The Network for Social Psychotherapy: the materialization of an idea , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 35 No. 2 (2024)
- Fulvio Frati, The double ‘double bind’ of transgender persons and ways to overcome it , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 35 No. 2 (2024)
- Rosa Giuliana Benetti, Giorgio Cavicchioli, Tiziana Scalvini, The intersubjective approach in psychoanalytical work , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 33 No. s1 (2022): Italy and its relational proposals
- Mariacarmela Abbruzzese, Enrico Vincenti, Reply to comments received , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 35 No. 2 (2024)
- Monica Negretti, 'Zero is a number but on its own is nothing': on the quality of the educational relationship. Commentary on the text 'Specific (Relational) Learning Disorders'. , Ricerca Psicoanalitica: Vol. 35 No. 1 (2024)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.