The efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy relative to medications

A recent survey by Consumer Reports (1994) found that people who received psychotherapy were generally pleased with their experience and that their satisfaction was unrelated to the type of treatment or the addition of medications. M.E.P. Seligman (1995) argued that these findings demonstrate the value of psychotherapy and suggested that such survey methodologies may be superior to randomized clinical trials in this regard because they study what occurs in actual clinical practice. Although such approaches provide important information, they are no substitute for controlled clinical trials when it comes to drawing causal inferences. However, the study does highlight the importance of defining outcome in the broadest possible fashion and of addressing the external validity of the findings obtained. Attention to such considerations has implications for the relative value of drugs and psychotherapy.