Research vs. practice in mental health
Monday, October 19th, 2009
By: Maiken Scott
mscott@whyy.org
Evidence-Based Medicine sounds simple: Make sure doctors use the treatments proven to work best. In the field of mental health, there is a bit of a fight brewing over this idea. A recent article in The Journal of Psychological Science in the Public Interest (.pdf link) argues that therapists are not keeping up with the latest research in their field. Therapists counter that scientific studies often don't hold up in the real world. What does this mean for consumers?
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Well said! This is a balanced view that works for me as a therapist. A key phrase for me is that just because we can not measure something does not mean that it is wrong, does not work or does not exist.