Evaluating empirically based psychotherapy research for children and adolescents

Area of Science:

• Child and adolescent psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Psychotherapy research

Background:

• Psychotherapy research has advanced methodologically over the past 50 years.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of psychotherapy is crucial at the start of a new millennium.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the historical perspective of psychotherapy evaluation.
• To present the Child Task Force criteria for evaluating psychotherapy outcomes.
• To discuss the efficacy of treatments for child and adolescent disorders.

Main Methods:

• Historical review of psychotherapy evaluation.
• Presentation of the Child Task Force criteria.
• Review of American Psychological Association Task Force findings on child and adolescent disorders.

Main Results:

• Presents well-established and probably efficacious treatments for depression, anxiety, disruptive behavior disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents.
• Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of structured criteria for psychotherapy research evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Structured criteria offer a framework for evaluating psychotherapy research in children and adolescents.
• Future directions in psychotherapy research for youth are proposed.