Abstract
Task forces come up with empirically supported therapies and therapist-client relationships. A careful study of their research provides an empirically supported answer to the long-standing question of what psychotherapy is for. Accordingly, if your way of doing therapy falls outside the empirically based boundary, (a) you can risk declining their ‘practice guidelines;’ (b) you can develop your own ‘practice guidelines;’ and (c) you can pursue some exciting implications from having an alternative set of guidelines for how to do psychotherapy. A strategy is proposed as a plausible alternative to the task forces’ empirically based strategy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychological Association (1995). Template for developing guidelines: Interventions for mental disorders and psychological aspects of physical disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Caine, D. J., & Seeman, J. (Eds.) (2002) Humanistic psychotherapies: Handbook of research and practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Chambless, D. L., et al. (1996). An update on empirically validated therapies. The Clinical Psychologist, 49, 5–18.
Chambless, D. L., et al. (1998). Update on empirically validated therapies, II. The Clinical Psychologist, 51, 3–16.
Chambless, D. L., & Hollon, S. D. (1998). Defining empirically supported therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 7–18.
Chambless, D. L., & Ollendick, T. H. (2001). Empirically supported psychological interventions: Controversies and evidence. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 685–716.
Elkin, I., Parloff, M. B., Hadley, S. W., & Autry, J. H. (1985). NIMH treatment of depression collaboration research program: Background and research plan. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 305–316.
Gladis, M. M., Gosch, E. A., Dishuk, N. M., & Crits-Christoph, P. (1999). Quality of life: Expanding the scope of clinical significance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 320-331.
Jacobson, N. S., Follette, W. C., & Revenstorf, D. (1984). Psychotherapy outcome research: Methods for reporting variability and evaluating clinical significance. Behavior Therapy, 15, 336-352.
Jacobson, N. S., Roberts, L. J., Berns, S. B., & McGlinchey, J. B. (1999). Methods for defining and determining the clinical significance of treatment effects: Description, application, and alternatives. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 300–307.
Jacobson, N. S., & Truax, P. (1991). Clinical significance: A statistical approach to defining meaningful change in psychotherapy research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 12–19.
Kazdin, A. E., & Wilson, G. T. (1978). Evaluation of behavior therapy: Issues, evidence, and research strategies. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
Kendall, P. C. (1998). Empirically supported psychological therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 3–6.
Kendall, P. C., & Grove, W. (1988). Normative comparisons in therapy outcome. Behavioral Assessment, 10, 147–158.
Kendall, P. C., Marrs-Garcia, A., Nath, S. R., & Sheldrick, R. C. (1999). Normative comparisons for the evaluation of clinical significance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 285–299.
Kendall, P. C., & Norton-Ford, J. D. (1982). Therapy outcome research methods. In P. C. Kendall & J. N. Butcher, (Eds.) Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology (pp. 429–460). New York: Wiley.
Mahrer, A. R. (1989). Experiencing: A humanistic theory of psychology and psychiatry. Ottawa, Canada: University of Ottawa Press.
Mahrer, A. R. (1996/2004). The complete guide to experiential psychotherapy. Boulder, Colorado: Bull.
Mahrer, A. R. (2002). Review of “Humanistic psychotherapies: Handbook of research and practice.” Psychotherapy Research, 12, 245–249.
Mahrer, A. R., & Fairweather, D. R. (1993). What is “experiencing”? A critical review of the meanings and applications in psychotherapy. The Humanistic Psychologist, 21, 2–25.
Nathan, P. E. (1998). Practice guidelines: Not yet ideal. American Psychologist, 53, 290–299.
Nietzel, M. T., & Trull, T. J. (1988). Meta-analytic approaches to social comparisons: A method for measuring clinical significance. Behavioral Assessment, 10, 146–159.
Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21, 95–103.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1995). The effectiveness of psychotherapy: The Consumer Reports study. American Psychologist, 50, 965–974.
Telch, M. J., Schmid, N. B., Jaimez, L., Jacquin, K. M., & Harrington, P. J. (1995). Impact of cognitive-behavioral treatment on quality of life in panic disorder patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 823–830.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mahrer, A.R. What is Psychotherapy for? A Plausible Alternative to Empirically Supported Therapies, Therapy Relationships, and Practice Guidelines. J Contemp Psychother 35, 99–115 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-005-0806-4
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-005-0806-4