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The effectiveness of psychotherapy
Does therapy help?
Research has shown the answer to that question to be yes. {Reviews of
psychotherapy outcome research document the empirical evidence supporting the
effectiveness of psychotherapy. These reviews leave little doubt. Therapy is
effective.} [ Hubble, Duncan, Miller, (1999 )The Heart and Soul of Change ]
The results of 81 controlled trials were integrated statistically using the
meta-analytic technique. The condition of the typical patient after treatment
was better than that of 77% of untreated controls measured at the same time, and
the rate of relapse in the 1st 2 yrs was small. Behavior and psychodynamic
verbal therapies appeared to be superior to other therapies. [APA ONLINE]
Consumer Reports (November1995 ) published a paper in which it concluded that
patients benefited very substantially from psychotherapy, that those in
long-term treatment did very much better than those in short-term treatment, and
that psychotherapy alone did not differ in effectiveness from medication plus
psychotherapy. No specific style of psychotherapy was shown to achieve more than
any other for any condition. "The Effectiveness of Psychotherapy - The Consumer
Reports Study" from American Psychologist, page Volume 50, No. 12, 965*974
