Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Is a science of psychotherapy possible? Subjectivity problems.

E Erwin1

  • 1Department of Philosophy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33214, USA. eerwin@umiami.ir.miami.edu

The American Psychologist
|November 18, 2000
PubMed
Summary

This study addresses subjectivity challenges in psychotherapy research, specifically concerning client meaning alteration and outcome evaluations. It concludes these issues do not prevent psychotherapy from becoming a rigorous science.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Is the hygiene hypothesis still a viable explanation for the increased prevalence of asthma?

Allergy·2005
Same author

Effects of monocular deprivation and reverse suture on orientation maps can be explained by activity-instructed development of geniculocortical connections.

Visual neuroscience·2002
Same author

The rejection of natural science approaches to psychotherapy: language and the world.

Journal of clinical psychology·2001
Same author

How valuable are psychotherapy experiments?: The idiographic problem.

Journal of clinical psychology·2000
Same author

Is the development of orientation selectivity instructed by activity?

Journal of neurobiology·1999
Same author

The subregion correspondence model of binocular simple cells.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·1999

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Psychotherapy Research
  • Philosophy of Science

Background:

  • Subjectivity presents challenges in characterizing psychotherapy's goals and evaluating its effectiveness.
  • Defining psychotherapy's aim to alter client meanings is complex.
  • Assessing psychotherapy outcomes often involves subjective value judgments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze two key subjectivity problems in psychotherapy research.
  • To determine if these subjectivity issues hinder psychotherapy's scientific advancement.
  • To propose a path for psychotherapy to achieve scientific rigor.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of subjectivity in psychotherapy.
  • Examination of meaning alteration as a therapeutic process.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Critique of value judgments in outcome assessment.
  • Philosophical argumentation regarding scientific transformation.

    • Main Results:

    • The characterization of psychotherapy as meaning alteration is amenable to scientific study.
    • Subjective value judgments in outcome evaluation can be managed through objective criteria.
    • Apparent subjectivity does not present insurmountable obstacles to scientific progress.

    Conclusions:

    • Psychotherapy can overcome its subjectivity challenges to become a genuine science.
    • Addressing these issues requires careful conceptualization and methodological refinement.
    • The discipline has the potential for robust scientific validation and advancement.