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Empirically supported psychological interventions: controversies and evidence
1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3270, USA. chambles@email.unc.edu
Annual Review of Psychology
|January 10, 2001
Summary
Efforts to promote evidence-based psychotherapy have resulted in task forces identifying effective psychological treatments. This review summarizes identified treatments and discusses controversies in their research and dissemination.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychotherapy Research
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Growing emphasis on evidence-based psychotherapy in the US and internationally.
- Formation of task forces to define and disseminate empirically supported psychological interventions.
- Need for standardized methods to identify and review psychological treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the work of task forces identifying empirically supported treatments (ESTs).
- To review the lists of psychological interventions identified as ESTs.
- To examine the controversies and challenges in EST identification and dissemination.
Main Methods:
- Review of publications and reports from EST identification task forces in the US, UK, and other regions.
- Analysis of methodologies used in EST research.
- Examination of the process for reviewing and disseminating ESTs.
Main Results:
- Identification of numerous psychological interventions as ESTs across various mental health conditions.
- Summary of EST lists from key international task forces.
- Documentation of ongoing debates regarding research quality, external validity, and review process transparency.
Conclusions:
- Evidence-based psychotherapy is increasingly recognized and promoted globally.
- Significant advancements have been made in identifying and disseminating ESTs.
- Ongoing dialogue and refinement of research and review processes are crucial for the field.
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