https://doi.org/10.4081/rp.2021.261

Efficacy of Psychotherapeutic Treatments: Research Based on Clinical Practice

Vol. 32 No. 2 (2021)
Submitted: March 4, 2020
Accepted: July 29, 2020
Published: August 26, 2021
Psychotherapy research, efficacy, outcome, therapeutic relationship, practice-based research.
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Authors

Gianluca Lo Coco
gianluca.lococo@unipa.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9027-1899
Psychologist and Psychotherapist. He is Full Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Palermo. He is President of the Italian Section of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Italy.

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.

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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

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