The Evaluation of Psychotherapies: Implications From the Criteria of the Paradigm of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy

The emergence of the concept of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy was made following the path of Evidence-Based Medicine. The initial objective of the movement was to facilitate the decision-making process of psychotherapists in individual cases a complement to their clinical experience. From the beginning, this movement used the Gold Standard of efficacy used with new drugs entering the market, the Randomized Control Trial (RCT), to measure the efficacy of psychotherapy. However, the limited generalization of research studies on efficacy in psychotherapy generates distrust in clinical professionals in relevance of this type of evaluative research, and distance from researchers (Evans, 2003). Currently, multiple alternatives have been generated for the evaluation of psychotherapies that try to reflect the multiple dimensions affected by these treatments, in an attempt to differentiate them from the methods used to evaluate medical treatments. Despite this, the Evidence-Based Psychotherapy movement seems to remain the dominant model. This can have serious consequences when it comes to Mental Health Service Managers in different countries being able to make well-informed administrative decisions.