Psychotherapy Research at the Start of the 21st Century: The Persistence of the Art versus Science Controversy

Joyce, Anthony S., Wolfaardt, Ulrich, Sribney, Christine, Aylwin, A. Scott, Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

This article offers an overview of prominent general trends in the field of psychotherapy research. We consider 3 areas of the literature: metaanalytic reviews addressing the effectiveness of psychotherapy, the movement to identify empirically supported treatments (EST), and research on the "common factor" or "contextual" models of psychotherapy. We present narrative reviews of selected literature associated with each area. The reviews highlight several issues currently confronting the field. Metaanalytic reviews underscore 2 conclusions: psychotherapy is superior to the absence of treatment, and different approaches to psychotherapy yield equivalent effects. In counterpoint to these …

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Publication information: Article title: Psychotherapy Research at the Start of the 21st Century: The Persistence of the Art versus Science Controversy. Contributors: Joyce, Anthony S. - Author, Wolfaardt, Ulrich - Author, Sribney, Christine - Author, Aylwin, A. Scott - Author. Journal title: Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Volume: 51. Issue: 13 Publication date: November 2006. Page number: 797+. © Canadian Psychiatric Association Feb 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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