Evan Kimel
Psychology 100H
1/17/13
What is the Role of Empirical Evidence Concerning Psychotherapy?
The fact that doctors can physically prove to us that amoxicillin will cure our
strep throat usually suffices in convincing somebody of amoxicillin’s effectiveness.
This sect of medicine, however, seems to be very different from psychology in that it
can be much tougher to prove a psychological condition has changed due to certain
therapies. In order to prove a medicine or treatment’s effectives, psychologists often
turn to empirical evidence, especially when concerning psychotherapy. In the case
of empirical evidence, it would appear that most would agree that tried and tested
therapies are at the very least a good guide as to implementing certain treatments
for certain conditions, and for this, we can agree that empirical evidence is a great
tool to psychotherapy. However, we must ask ourselves, what exactly is the role of
empirical evidence concerning psychotherapy?
Let’s examine empirical evidence’s role in general. Empirical evidence in any
case justifies a belief or falsifies a claim. The interesting thing about empirical
evidence in psychotherapy is that empirical evidence only comes from our five
senses, much like psychology centers around the five senses. The thing that makes
empirical evidence so crucial in psychotherapy is that psychotherapies need tested;
that is, case studies must be utilized in order to gather data. Though some debate
the equality of certain psychotherapies, citing the Dodo Hypothesis as flawed, most
would agree that the majority of psychotherapies in general help patients; in fact, in
one study, it was found that the average size for psychotherapy was .85, a large
effect; this meant that the average person who received psychotherapy was better
off than 80% of those who did not.
In order to confirm whether or not a treatment is working, said treatment
must be attempted on a patient. The experiment, should it be a success, may then be
replicated by another researcher. If the process has yielded the same result time and
time again, it can be said that empirical evidence has been gathered. What is done
with this evidence is what matters. Some would claim that all psychotherapies are
equally effective. Some would claim that they aren’t. There is evidence to both sides;
it is empirical evidence that helps to clearly define the truth in the matter. To
challenge the Dodo Bird verdict, J. Siev and D.L. Chambless conducted a metaanalysis comparing CBT and relaxation, two treatments for anxiety disorders, by
trying them on panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. It was found that
CBT outperformed relaxation techniques for panic disorder, yet the two techniques
were equal on all fronts for generalized anxiety disorder. In contrast to this, a 2001
analysis found that the therapeutic alliance—the strength of the bond between a
therapist and his or her client—accounts for about 7 percent of therapeutic
effectiveness but that the actual type of psychotherapy at work accounts for only
about 1 percent. Most of the remaining 92 percent is presumed to be caused by
other factors. So the question is, are psychotherapies equal? Perhaps. Perhaps
not. Even the author of that same 2001 study noted that this conclusion only held
true to bona fide experiments.
Empirical evidence’s role in psychotherapy is to help decide on a case-bycase basis which psychotherapy is most effective in that certain situation and
why. For example, it would be foolish to attempt rebirthing therapy instead of
cognitive-behavioral therapy on most psychological conditions, but we wouldn’t
know this definitively without empirical evidence. The issue is, there are over 500
different schools of psychotherapy, and we do not know for sure which are more
effective than others pertaining to certain conditions. By continuing to gather
empirical data, we can hope for a future where we can give patients an ideal
treatment based on successful past cases.
Works Cited
Slife, Brent. Taking Sides. 17th Edition. Print.
Arkowitz, Hal, and Scott Lilenfeld. "Are All Psychotherapies Created Equal?." Scientific
American. N.p.. Web. 16 Jan 2013.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=are-all-psychotherapies-createdequal&page=2>.
. "Psychotherapy Is Effective but Underutilized, Review Shows." Science Daily. N.p..
Web. 16 Jan 2013. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120809190641.htm>.