Death knell for psychotherapy?

Reviews criticisms of M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass's (see record 1978-10341-001) meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies, including the comments of H. J. Eysenck (1978), P. S. Gallo (1978), and S. Presby (1978). Smith and Glass's data tend to negate the claimed benefits of psychotherapy, as well as the value of educational and experiential achievement in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"An exercise in mega-silliness": Reply.

Replies to H. J. Eysenck's (1978) criticisms of M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass's (see record 1978-10341-001) meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies. Eysenck's rejection of any evidence supporting the effectiveness of psychotherapy is disputed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy outcome: Smith and Glass' conclusions stand up under scrutiny.

Selected a sample of the original set of psychotherapy outcome studies analyzed by M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) for reanalysis to address criticisms of the methodological quality of the studies in the original sample. Results uphold the positive conclusions regarding psychotherapeutic efficacy originally drawn by Smith and Glass. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy outcome research.

Critiques H. J. Eysenck's (1978) criticism of M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass's (see record 1978-10333-001) meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies. Eysenck's insistance on a position regarding spontaneous remission is examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decision rules for selecting effect sizes in meta-analysis: A review and reanalysis of psychotherapy outcome studies.

This study deals with some of the judgmental factors involved in selecting effect sizes from within the studies that enter a meta-analysis. Particular attention is paid to the conceptual redundancy rule that Smith, Glass, and Miller (1980) used in their study of the effectiveness of psychotherapy for deciding which effect sizes should and should not be counted in determining an overall effect size. Data from a random sample of 25 studies from Smith et al.'s (1980) population of psychotherapy outcome studies were first recoded and then reanalyzed meta-analytically. Using the conceptual redundancy rule, three coders independently coded effect sizes and identified more than twice as many of them per study as did Smith et al. Moreover, the treatment effect estimates associated with this larger sample of effects ranged between .30 and .50, about half the size claimed by Smith et al. Analyses of other rules for selecting effect sizes showed that average effect estimates also varied with these rules. Such results indicate that the average effect estimates derived from meta-analyses may depend heavily on judgmental factors that enter into how effect sizes are selected within each of the individual studies considered relevant to a meta-analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meta-analysis and selective publication bias.

Disagrees with J. T. Landman and R. M. Dawes (see record 1982-30838-001), who support M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass's (see record 1978-10341-001) conclusion that there is convincing evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy. It is suggested that since it is possible that one-fourth to one-half of the mean effect size reported by Smith and Glass might have been due to selective reporting, it is wrong and misleading to continue claiming that the patient in psychotherapy is better off than 75% of untreated controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meta-analysis: A mixed meta-phor?

The conclusions of M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) regarding (1) the proven beneficial effects of psychotherapy and (2) the negligible difference in the effects produced by different therapy types are dismissed on methodological grounds. In a cost-efficiency analysis of psychotherapy, it is impossible to determine whether psychotherapy is worth the effort and expense since there are no data on alternative courses of action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Kurosawa.

Defends the 1st 2 authors' (see record 1982-30838-001) reanalysis of the M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) psychotherapy outcome study and responds to criticism by K. Kurosawa (see record 1984-24820-001) regarding their conclusion that there is convincing evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The variance accounted for in meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcomes": A reply to Willson.

Replies to V. L. Willson's (1980) criticism of P. S. Gallo (1978) for miscalculating the strength of the effect of psychotherapy as originally reported by M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) and misinterpreting the results of Smith and Glass's study. Willson fails to provide any calculations or data to support his contentions. The original calculations that were employed are presented, and Willson's figures are shown to be incorrect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of HIV treatment: Mental health aspects of antiviral therapy.

Reviews the book, HIV treatment: Mental health aspects of antiviral therapy by Michael Shernoff and Raymond A. Smith (see record 2000-02567-000). In this monograph, the authors offer valuable, requisite knowledge for mental health providers who work with HIV positive patients. The authors impart essential biomedical information about antiviral treatments without becoming overly technical and provide vivid case studies to highlight the psychosocial context of antiviral treatment. The authors then succeed in bringing attention to the often ignored intersection of psychotherapy and medical treatment. One minor limitation of Shernoff and Smith's monograph is that little information is provided regarding psychotherapy with HIV positive children and older adults; the majority of the clinical examples feature adult, gay clients. Some therapists may take issue with the authors' suggestions that, in certain cases, the disclosure of a therapist's HIV status can facilitate empathy, and a supportive hug can be encouraging. Despite professional agreement or disagreement with these interventions, the authors clearly state that an eclectic approach represents one in which treatment decisions are made only after careful thought and consideration, with the benefit of supervision. The reviewer cannot help but agree, and commend Shernoff and Smith on providing an infinitely useful, illustrative text on a critically important topic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Psychotherapy outcome research": Reply.

Replies to M. J. Lambert's (1979) criticism of H. J. Eysenck's (1978) critique of a study of psychotherapy outcome by M. L. Smith et al (see record 1978-10341-001), defending Eysenck's estimate of spontaneous remission. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smith and Glass's psychotherapy conclusions need further probing: On Landman and Dawes's reanalysis.

Critiques J. T. Landman and R. M. Dawes's (see record 1982-30838-001) reanalysis of the M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) psychotherapy outcome study. It is suggested that the Landman and Dawes study has 2 serious sampling problems. The first is the mismatch between the population sampled from and the population to which the sample, after reanalysis, is compared. Also, there is a flaw in the sampling procedure itself. It is further suggested that the conceptual shortcoming of the reanalysis turns around Landman and Dawes's definition of well-controlled studies. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are the poor being cheated in our mental health services?

Contradicts the view of M. B. Smith and N. Hobbs (see record 1966-11375-001) that poor people are being cheated in the delivery of mental health services at community mental health centers. It is suggested that there are rational reasons why the poor receive psychotherapy less often than other socioeconomic groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Orwin and Cordray.

The authors reply to criticisms by R. G. Orwin and D. S. Cordray (see record 1984-24829-001) concerning their reanalysis of the M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass (see record 1978-10341-001) psychotherapy outcome study. The authors defend their analysis and reject Orwin and Cordray's assertion that they overstated the case for psychotherapeutic effectiveness. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overly broad categories obscure important differences between therapies.

Comments on M. L. Smith and G. V. Glass's (see record 1978-10341-001) meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome, noting that distortions emerge when the types of therapy under study are organized into 2 "superclasses" of behavioral and nonbehavioral therapies. These groupings ignore important differences among the nonbehavioral therapies, for example, the superior effects of rational-emotive therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culturally adapted psychotherapy and the legitimacy of myth: A direct-comparison meta-analysis.

Psychotherapy is a culturally encapsulated healing practice that is created from and dedicated to specific cultural contexts (Frank & Frank, 1993; Wampold, 2007; Wrenn, 1962). Consequently, conventional psychotherapy is a practice most suitable for dominant cultural groups within North America and Western Europe but may be culturally incongruent with the values and worldviews of ethnic and racial minority groups (e.g., D. W. Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992). Culturally adapted psychotherapy has been reported in a previous meta-analysis as more effective for ethnic and racial minorities than a set of heterogeneous control conditions (Griner & Smith, 2006), but the relative efficacy of culturally adapted psychotherapy versus unadapted, bona fide psychotherapy remains unestablished. Furthermore, one particular form of adaptation involving the explanation of illness—known in an anthropological context as the illness myth of universal healing practices (Frank & Frank, 1993)—may be responsible for the differences in outcomes between adapted and unadapted treatments for ethnic and racial minority clients. The present multilevel-model, direct-comparison meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies confirms that culturally adapted psychotherapy is more effective than unadapted, bona fide psychotherapy by d = 0.32 for primary measures of psychological functioning. Adaptation of the illness myth was the sole moderator of superior outcomes via culturally adapted psychotherapy (d = 0.21). Implications of myth adaptation in culturally adapted psychotherapy for future research, training, and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment: Integrating methodologies in the scientific study of interpersonal psychotherapy: A reaction to "Therapist immediacy in brief psychotherapy: Case study I and case study II".

In this reaction article, the author concentrates on selected methodological components characterizing both Kasper, Hill, and Kivlighan's (see record 2008-13167-001) and Hill, Sim, Spangler, Stahl, Sullivan, and Teyber's (see record 2008-13167-002) respective case studies of therapist immediacy in brief psychotherapy. In tandem, the foci and methodology of these investigations break new ground in the scientific study of interpersonal psychotherapy, and more generally they serve as paradigmatic illustrations of the form that psychotherapy research can take if it is to be truly more meaningful and useful for practitioners. Emphasis is placed on the investigators' integration of single-case research, elements of change process research, and quantitative and qualitative methods in a way that enables highly intensive examination of this core intervention in interpersonal psychotherapy. Specific elements and implications of each of these methodological components are briefly discussed, which also creates a context for addressing the issue of discovery versus verification as this pertains to the present studies. Some underlying philosophical considerations are also briefly touched on along the way. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Internalization of interpersonal process in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Internalization of interpersonal process in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy" by R. Steven Harrist, Stephen M. Quintana, Hans H. Strupp and William P. Henry (Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 1994[Spr], Vol 31[1], 49-57). This article contained, as Figure 1, an SASB model. The authorship and copyrights for the model were not acknowledged. The following acknowledgement should have been included: "Adapted from Benjamin (1984). Principles of Prediction using Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB). In R. A. Zucker, J. Aronoff, and A. J. Rabin (Eds.), Personality and the Prediction of Behavior (pp. 121- 174). New York: Academic." An apology is offered to the author, Dr. Lorna Smith Benjamin. The particular version used in the article was developed in collaboration with Clinton W. McLemore. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1994-46214-001.) Investigated the internalization of positive aspects of therapist–patient (TP) interactions among 70 patients and their 16 therapists who participated in a 5-yr study (H. H. Strupp et al, unpublished) of time-limited dynamic psychotherapy. Patients sought help for anxiety, depression, or other problems with a clear interpersonal component and qualified for an Axis I or Axis II diagnosis on the DSM-III. Instruments included the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior and outcome measures of depression, anxiety, and psychological functioning. Patients' intrapsychic functioning became more similar to interpersonal activity in the TP relationship over the course of psychotherapy. Intrapsychic movement toward interpersonal activity in the TP relationship was associated with positive outcome on measures of depression, anxiety, and on independent clinician ratings of patient psychological functioning. (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)