The Consumer Reports study of psychotherapy: Invalid is invalid.

Contends that M. E. P. Seligman's (see record 1996-13324-001) reanalysis of the Consumer Reports survey does not warrant any new conclusions about the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Several methodological flaws are also noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effectiveness of psychotherapy: The Consumer Reports study.

Consumer Reports (1995, November) published an article which concluded that patients benefitted very substantially from psychotherapy, that long-term treatment did considerably better than short-term treatment, and that psychotherapy alone did not differ in effectiveness from medication plus psychotherapy. Furthermore, no specific modality of psychotherapy did better than any other for any disorder; psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers did not differ in their effectiveness as treaters; and all did better than marriage counselors and long-term family doctoring. Patients whose length of therapy or choice of therapist was limited by insurance or managed care did worse. The methodological virtues and drawbacks of this large-scale survey are examined and contrasted with the more traditional efficacy study, in which patients are randomized into a manualized, fixed duration treatment or into control groups. I conclude that the Consumer Reports survey complements the efficacy method, and that the best features of these two methods can be combined into a more ideal method that will best provide empirical validation of psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effectiveness of medication: The Consumer Reports study.

Comments on M. E. P. Seligman's (see record 1996-13324-001) reanalysis of the 1995 Consumer Reports survey of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. The author asserts that Seligman did not sufficiently emphasize the lack of difference between the psychotherapy group and the psychotherapy plus medication group. This finding suggests more than a lack of effectiveness for medication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy: Two paradigms, one science.

Comments on M. E. P. Seligman's (see record 1996-13324-001) reanalysis of the 1995 Consumer Reports survey of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. The authors express concern that readers may draw from Seligman's arguments the erroneous conclusion that the transition from efficacy paradigms to effectiveness paradigms requires a relaxation of methodological rigor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Consumer Reports mental health survey.

Provides an overview of the 1995 Consumer Reports survey of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Specific issues addressed include the study's goals; the findings for mental health professionals, family doctors, and self-help groups; and methodological strengths and weaknesses related to external validity, sampling, controls, self-reports, and time frame. The data show that, free of the artificial constraints of controlled studies in the real world, a population of consumers can often benefit from psychological intervention services. Real relief can be found at the hands of professional mental health providers. M. Kotkin et al reaffirm their independence from M. E. P. Seligman (see record 1996-13324-001) regarding the interpretation of the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New evidence of flaws in the Consumer Reports study of psychotherapy.

Comments on M. E. P. Seligman's article (see record 1997-04811-001) and comment (see record 1997-04812-001) concerning the Consumer Reports study of psychotherapy. It is argued that the new information from the comment only confirms previously cited flaws. It is believed that while seeking evidence about the effectiveness of psychotherapy, M. E. P. Seligman simultaneously assumed its effectiveness. Methodological flaws of the kind that invalidated the Consumer Reports reanalysis can be corrected in subsequent studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A creditable beginning.

Replies to comments by E. Hunt, T. Brock et al, and J. Mintz et al (see records 84-04782, 04763, and 04792, respectively) on M. E. P. Seligman's (see record 1996-13324-001) reanalysis of the 1995 Consumer Reports (CR) survey of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Seligman contends that effectiveness studies that correct for the methodological shortcomings of the CR study will greatly enhance the knowledge of the benefits of psychotherapy and will cement an alliance between science and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The tripartite model and the Consumer Reports study.

This article relates the Consumer Reports (1995) study to the framework of the tripartite model of mental health and therapeutic outcomes (H. H. Strupp and S. W. Hadley, 1977) and calls attention to major unsolved problems in the assessment of therapeutic change. The model envisions three perspectives for evaluating outcomes: adaptive behavior (society), sense of well-being, and personality structure. The self-report perspective is viewed as having its own validity; however, it needs to be complemented by the other two perspectives of the model. Integration of the three perspectives has remained a somewhat elusive goal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome assessment of psychotherapy.

ANovember, 1995 Consumer Reports (CR) magazine report and an article by M. E. P. Seligman (American Psychologist, 1995) on psychotherapy use follow in the tradition of federal efforts in 1957 and 1976 to document mental health services utilization. The 1995 reports represent a confirmation of the public's perception and valuing of psychotherapy that is consistent with the overall conclusion from empirical research that "psychotherapy, as a generic process, is demonstrably more effective than no treatment." Lifetime psychotherapy use increased from 14% in 1957 to 26% in 1976 (and is probably higher today). CR data, reconfigured to parallel earlier reports on overall utilization and by provider group, are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolving profession of psychology: Comment on Lowe Hays-Thomas's (2000) "The silent conversation."

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 31(4) of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (see record 2007-17397-001). On page 346 in the author note, Louisiana Southern University was given as the university where Tommy T. Stigall received his PhD. The correct university is Louisiana State University.] The authors comment on R. Lowe Hays-Thomas (2000; see record 2000-03894-016). The article begins with a few comments about the master's-degree issue and then examines the evolution of professional psychology in relationship to the master's issue over the past 50 years and into the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Wizard of Oz as cultural narrative and conceptual model for psychotherapy.

Narrative has long served as a means of communicating important information that explains the relationships among events and as a guide for learning skills. This article examines a major contemporary narrative, The Wizard of Oz, as it elucidates difficulties encountered in our society and how they are addressed through development and change. The implications of the film for psychotherapy are explored using the comparative approach developed by Jerome Frank. The narrative is considered as it illustrates Frank's notion of demoralization and the elements and processes hypothesized to be shared by all effective psychotherapeutic approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commentary on "Publishing opinions: A note on the usefulness of commentaries."

Comments on J. J. Christensen-Szalanski and L. R. Beach's (see record 1984-21471-001) conclusion that the attention given to commentaries and replies to articles did not justify the extra space. The author indicates that a 40% increase in space was associated with a 91% increase in citations; data do not argue against the use of commentaries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Boundaries in psychotherapy: Ethical and clinical explorations.

Reviews the book, Boundaries in psychotherapy: Ethical and clinical explorations by Ofer Zur (see record 2007-00030-000). In this book, Dr. Zur outlines a number of the salient boundary issues in psychotherapy. As such, this book provides a valuable resource for practising mental health professionals regardless of theoretical orientation. Specifically, this book aims to shed light on the definition and use of psychotherapeutic boundaries by providing a context-based and comprehensive discussion of diverse boundary issues. The book is divided into four parts, and each of the first three parts is made up of four chapters. Part 1, "Boundaries in Context," addresses an assortment of topics concerning boundaries in psychotherapy. Part 2 focuses on issues that affect the therapeutic frame. Part 3 addresses boundary issues that exist within the therapeutic encounter. In Part 4, appropriately titled "Final Thoughts," the author provides a cogent epilogue that highlights the complex and multifaceted nature of professional boundaries and stresses the importance of conducting risk- benefit analyses and other diligent risk management studies when contemplating crossing boundaries in psychotherapy. With regard to the author's stated objectives for writing this book, he accomplishes his goal of shedding light on the definition and use of psychotherapeutic boundaries. Overall, the author's simple and clear writing style makes this an extremely easy book to read. Other strengths include the succinct definition of terms and inclusion of practical tips and suggestions to help the reader navigate the complexities that entrench boundary issues in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Insult, aggression, and the southern culture of honor: An "experimental ethnography."

Three experiments examined how norms characteristic of a "culture of honor" manifest themselves in the cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and physiological reactions of southern White males. Participants were University of Michigan students who grew up in the North or South. In 3 experiments, they were insulted by a confederate who bumped into the participant and called him an "asshole." Compared with northerners (who were relatively unaffected by the insult) southerners were more likely to think their masculine reputation was threatened, more upset (as shown by a rise in cortisol levels), more physiologically primed for aggression (as shown by a rise in testosterone levels), more cognitively primed for aggression, and more likely to engage in aggressive and dominant behavior. Findings highlight the insult–aggression cycle in cultures of honor, in which insults diminish a man's reputation and he tries to restore his status by aggressive or violent behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Play in child development and psychotherapy: Toward empirically supported practice.

Reviews the book, Play in child development and psychotherapy: Toward empirically supported practice by Sandra Russ (see record 2003-88219-000). Clinical child psychologists have used play as a vehicle for psychotherapy for over 75 years. However, current demands of managed care systems emphasize the need for time limited and empirically supported treatments. Although play techniques are commonly incorporated by psychologists of various theoretical orientations, Sandra Russ points out in this book the disparity between the theoretical role of play in psychotherapy and the actual evidence supporting these techniques. The first four chapters of the book provide literature reviews of the history, theory, and research on pretend play, considering both normative and clinical populations. The next three chapters focus more specifically on the current developments in understanding play from research and practice perspectives. Finally, Russ considers future objectives for researchers and practitioners who seek to expand and enhance the utility of play techniques in child psychotherapy. Russ's book clearly provides a basis for understanding the current state of the child play therapy field while strongly emphasizing the need for additional research. This book may be useful for practitioners who strive to provide empirically supported treatments because it provides theoretical and available research perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Benchmarking the effectiveness of psychotherapy treatment for adult depression in a managed care environment: A preliminary study.

This preliminary study evaluated the effectiveness of psychotherapy treatment for adult clinical depression provided in a natural setting by benchmarking the clinical outcomes in a managed care environment against effect size estimates observed in published clinical trials. Overall results suggest that effect size estimates of effectiveness in a managed care context were comparable to effect size estimates of efficacy observed in clinical trials. Relative to the 1-tailed 95th-percentile critical effect size estimates, effectiveness of treatment provided in this setting was observed to be between 80% (patients with comorbidity and without antidepressants) and 112% (patients without comorbidity concurrently on antidepressants) as compared to the benchmarks. Because the nature of the treatments delivered in the managed care environment were unknown, it was not possible to make conclusions about treatments. However, while replications are warranted, concerns that psychotherapy delivered in a naturalistic setting is inferior to treatments delivered in clinical trials appear unjustified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protecting the integrity of the legal system: The admissibility of testimony from mental health experts under Daubert/Kumho analyses.

The authors discussed to what degree testimony from social science and mental health experts (psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, therapists, others) meets admissibility requirements expressed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Daubert (1993), Joiner ( General Electric Co. v. Joiner , 1997) and the recent Kumho (1999) decision. They reviewed data on Daubert/Kumho indicia of reliability using 2 exemplar areas of mental health testimony: psychodiagnostic assessment by means of the Rorschach and other "projective" assessment techniques and the diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder and multiple personality disorder (dissociative identity disorder). They concluded that some testimony offered by mental health professionals relating to these concepts should not survive scrutiny under the framework of Daubert , Joiner , and Kumho . (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender identity: The benefits of a self-schema approach.

Questions S. L. Bem's (see record 1983-21087-001) definition of a gender schema and argues that male and female sex-typed individuals do not have equivalent gender schemata. The high-androgynous individuals are the only ones for whom both masculinity and femininity are equally available and who might be properly termed "gender schematic." (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Foundations of counseling and psychotherapy: Evidence-based practices in a diverse society.

Reviews the book, Foundations of counseling and psychotherapy: Evidence-based practices in a diverse society by David Sue and Diane M. Sue (2007). This book delivers a broad overview of major theories of mental health practise that is provocative and up to date. Cutting-edge research and a passionate plea for multicultural considerations make this is a unique resource for students, educators, and mental health workers. In addition, the text is clear, well written, and understandable to both novice and advanced students or practitioners. It uses a language that is both reasonable and persuasive. Commencing with a fervent rationale for evidence-based practise and empirically supported theories, the authors show the detailed progression of the discipline of psychotherapy within the context of multiculturalism and diversity. The reader is led on a journey that emphasises employing a scientist–practitioner model “with a solid sense of how the various therapeutic approaches differ—and how each can be applied in clinical practice” (p. 2). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The problem of "helpfulness" in applying Daubert to expert testimony: Child custody determinations in family law as an exemplar.

In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , (1993), the U.S. Supreme Court considered the meaning of Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 702 in regard to the admissibility of scientific evidence. In this article, the authors argue that the relevance, reliability, and helpfulness framework adopted by the Court offers little guidance to judges on how to apply its interpretation of FRE 702's admissibility standard. Using child custody decision making as an exemplar, the authors highlight the difficulties inherent in applying the Daubert standard to social science testimony and find no reason to assume that other topics in the behavioral and social sciences will operate differently under Daubert scrutiny. The article concludes by recommending steps that courts can take to improve the ability of judges to apply Daubert to scientific information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)