Raising the bar in the empirical investigation of psychotherapy

摘要

If you ever go to a conference in which two types of psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic) are compared for the treatment of patients with a particular disorder, be prepared for the arousal of intense emotions in the room. It is curious that otherwise level-headed individuals can become so passionate under these circumstances. It stimulates the interesting question as to how the field of psychotherapy as a whole can advance beyond passionate allegiances to an empirically informed approach to delivering optimal psychotherapies for individual patients.