Evaluating Psychotherapies

Ashley has a master's degree. Based on this information alone, Ashley cannot be a:

clinical psychologist

Deena's therapist believes in using only empirically supported therapies for treating her dog phobia. Her therapist will probably use _____ therapy.

behavior

Data cited in the textbook suggests that about _____ percent of those experiencing anxiety or depression have used such alternative treatments as massage, spiritual healing, or herbal medicine.

50 to 60

randomized clinical trials

Researchers flip a coin to assign people on a waiting list to therapy or no therapy

meta analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

Barry's good friend has been dealing with severe anxiety for the last few months. However, he is reluctant to see a therapist because he is hoping that his anxious feelings will eventually go away. What can Barry say that might convince him that seeing a therapist would be beneficial?

Those undergoing therapy are likely to improve more quickly, and with less chance of relapse

correlational study

a research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other

descriptive study

an epidemiological study that describes a disease with respect to person, place, and time

As a parent, Wendy is skeptical of treatments that sound too good to be true. When she arrives at the psychologist's office, she asks about effective treatment for bed-wetting because her 6-year-old son has been having difficulties. She learns that _____ is the empirically supported treatment.

behavior conditioning

factor analysis

correlations among many variables are analyzed to identify closely related clusters of variables

Stefan recently suffered a traumatic experience and is now seeing a therapist on a regular basis. His therapist waves her finger in front of Stefan's face while he imagines the traumatic scene. This type of therapy is known as:

eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EDMR)

According to one study, good therapies share much in common, including:

hope for demoralized people

evidence based therapists

make decisions about different therapies based upon the evidence suggested by research, the therapist's clinical expertise, and the therapist's knowledge of their client

The CEO of a large corporation is considering the benefits her firm will offer employees. If she offers employees psychotherapy for psychological problems, chances are good that:

medical costs will be reduced

Critics of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) claim that _____ is the LEAST useful therapeutic component of the treatment.

rapidly moving one's eyes

Psy.D. is to Ph.D. as _____ is to _____.

therapy emphasis; research training