Practice-based evidence refers to research findings derived from clinical routine. As a complementary paradigm to randomized clinical trials, this evidence is collected through practice-oriented research with the goals of describing how mental health services are utilized and implemented, understanding how these services work or fail to work, and providing ways to improve practice. In contrast to traditional trials, practice-oriented research does not impose researcher-driven restrictions or prescriptions to clinical practice, which, for many practitioners, make research irrelevant to their work. By investigating psychological therapies as they are actually conducted in naturalistic settings, practice-oriented research stands as a strategy to foster a seamless integration between science and practice.
In
Practice-Based Evidence in the Psychological Therapies, practice-oriented researchers from different parts of the world and across a variety of clinical settings describe what led them to build their research programs, highlight studies they have conducted, and identify implications that can be derived from them. Among the key issues investigated are the effectiveness of treatment, routine outcome monitoring and clinical feedback, variables related to the client and the practitioner, therapist effects, mechanisms of change and therapeutic processes, and the context within which treatment takes place. The book concludes with a list of research, public policy, training, and clinical guidelines that should inform the delivery and investigation of mental health care. This work not only serves as a helpful source of information for practitioners, trainers, and administrators but also illustrates the value of practice-based evidence as a necessary component of the empirical foundations of psychotherapy.
Louis G. Castonguay, PhD, is a liberal arts professor of psychology at Penn State University. His research focuses on factors related to the process, outcome, and training of psychotherapy. He has been involved in practice-research networks and has conducted practice-oriented research aimed at better understanding and improving psychotherapy as practice in natural settings. He has more than 250 publications, including 13 co-edited books.
Dana Atzil-Slonim, PhD, is an associate professor of clinical psychology at Bar-Ilan University, where she serves as the research director of the university's community clinic and leads the Psychotherapy Research Lab. Her research focuses on the intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics that drive therapeutic change, integrating advanced artificial intelligence techniques to enhance precision in the treatment of depression.
Michael Barkham, PhD, is emeritus professor of clinical psychology at the University of Sheffield. He has conducted research on psychological therapies since 1985, particularly on measure development and support for their adoption by practitioners in routine practice. He has been a longstanding advocate for the paradigm of practice-based evidence as a complementary research paradigm to trials-based methods.
Wolfgang Lutz, PhD, is a professor of clinical psychology and psychotherapy at Trier University. He is one of the pioneers of patient-focused feedback research and empirically based personalization of psychological treatments and has worked in this area for more than 30 years using data from routine clinical practice in several countries.
