Why Only Efficiency, and Not Efficacy, Matters in Psychotherapy Practice.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Evidence-based practice in psychology traditionally considers both efficacy and efficiency as quality parameters.
• A scientocentric ideal often influences the emphasis placed on efficacy in psychological research and practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To argue that efficiency is the sole relevant parameter for assessing quality in clinical psychological care.
• To critique the overemphasis on efficacy within evidence-based psychology.
• To advocate for integrating efficiency with the ethical objectives of psychotherapy.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of quality parameters in evidence-based psychology.
• Ethical and philosophical examination of psychotherapy practice.

Main Results:

• Efficiency, not efficacy, is proposed as the primary metric for clinical care quality.
• The current emphasis on efficacy is identified as a symptom of a scientocentric bias.
• A reorientation away from scientocentrism is necessary for the appropriate application of scientific findings.

Conclusions:

• Clinical care quality in psychology should be exclusively evaluated by efficiency.
• Psychotherapy's ethical aims must guide the understanding and application of efficiency.
• Moving beyond a scientocentric model is essential for advancing evidence-based psychological practice.