The fundamental need for lived experience perspectives in developing and evaluating psychotherapies

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health Research
• Psychotherapy Innovation

Background:

• Despite advances in psychotherapy research and innovations like digital mental health tools, population-level mental illness rates remain high, with persistent issues in care access, treatment dropout, and real-world implementation of evidence-based treatments.
• The field of clinical psychology aims to serve individuals with mental illness, yet current intervention development and evaluation pipelines have not fully achieved this goal.

Purpose of the Study:

• This article argues for the fundamental need to incorporate lived experience perspectives, referred to as "experts by experience" (EBEs), into the development and evaluation of psychotherapies.
• To enhance the effectiveness, accessibility, and relevance of mental health interventions.

Main Methods:

• The article presents a critical review of current psychotherapy intervention science.
• It highlights the deprioritization of EBE input in the design, assessment, and dissemination of novel treatments.
• It draws parallels with adjacent fields where EBE engagement is more common.

Main Results:

• The absence of EBE partnership in mainstream psychotherapy research is identified as a significant flaw limiting the impact of innovations.
• EBE-partnered research has the potential to strengthen engagement, inform best practices, and personalize assessments of clinical change.
• Current approaches risk creating interventions that are not accessed, beneficial, or desired by the target populations.

Conclusions:

• Centering EBE perspectives is essential for optimizing mental health supports for diverse communities.
• Without this integration, intervention scientists risk developing ineffective or irrelevant treatments.
• Future psychotherapy research must prioritize collaboration with individuals with lived experience to improve mental healthcare outcomes.