What is already known and what is still unknown about therapy? - Chapter 8

What do we know so far?

In conclusion, we can say that it is the client who is largely responsible for the changes he or she wants to make in his or her life. When involving a therapist who feels comfortable with the client and who has sufficient techniques, this therapist can help the client to achieve his goals. The most essential predictor of therapeutic outcomes remains the extent to which the client is motivated to work with the techniques provided to him or her by the therapist.

Choosing a therapist:

• If you experience a specific form of psychological complaints (for example, such as mood or personality disorders), you can choose a therapist who is trained in evidence-based treatment for that specific form.

• Consider a therapist who uses your strengths. For example, if you understand why you do things the way you do, insight-oriented therapy will suit you well. An example of insight-oriented therapy is psychodynamic therapy. Behavioral therapy may work better for others.

• When you belong to a particular social group, it can be helpful to have a therapist from the same social group. But whichever therapist you choose, make sure he or she fully accepts and values ​​you as you are.

• Ask potential therapists what they think about you experiencing these issues and what they think might help. If this opinion is very different from your own views, it can be more difficult to build a good working relationship with this therapist.

• If you experience a decline after a few sessions, try to report this to your therapist. Discuss how the therapy could become more useful to you. Clients often postpone these types of conversations with their therapist, but when something like this is indicated at the beginning of therapy it can certainly make a big difference to the outcome.

• The greatest predictor of the outcome of therapy is the extent to which you are committed to the process. It is not the therapist, but the client that makes the therapy work.

What do we not know (thus, what should be studied)?

It is important to study why certain therapeutic orientations or techniques work better for specific psychological problems than others. In addition, more independent studies must be conducted into the effect and validity of certain therapies. In addition, it is important to study which client/therapist/relational factors are important in specific patient groups. It is also important to study how clients can be most motivated to follow therapies.

How can you stay up-to-date for yourself?

If you are interested in keeping your knowledge of psychological therapies up to date, there are several things you can do:

• Visit websites of psychotherapeutic research magazines, for example Journal of Clinical Psychology , or Journal of Counseling Psychology

• Register with certain magazines

• Check updates in professional magazines, such as Therapy Today

• Look out for new editions of important textbooks, such as The Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change 

• Google research questions you are interested in

How can you do your own research?

Of course you can also get started yourself. As a healthcare provider in practice, you can, for example, keep track of data yourself (for example, how many clients you see, what their demographic backgrounds are, and which clients seem to do best). You can then analyze your own data using SPSS, CORE-OM or R.

Chapter questions

1. What is the most essential predictor of therapeutic outcomes?

2. List a few things that are important to investigate further with regard to psychotherapy.

3. List some ways in which you can keep yourself up-to-date on the ins and outs of psychotherapy.