Overlooked Ethical Problems Associated With the Research and Practice of Evidence-Based Treatments

Bibliographic Data

ID9020394
AuthorsEnrico Gnaulati (0000-0003-3549-1914, Private Practice, Pasadena, CA, USA, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume62
Issue5
Pages653-668
Publication date2018-09-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Humanistic Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1678 • E-ISSN: 1552-650X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022167818800219
OpenAlexW2890276224
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited38

Proponents of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) have directed complaints of potential unethical practice against psychotherapists who refrain from using EBTs as first-line interventions for a range of psychiatric disorders on the grounds that these treatments should be given priority because of their exceptional scientific backing. This article counters these claims and highlights core ethical concerns associated with the research and practice of EBT itself; namely, the appropriateness of saturating the field with short-term models of psychotherapy and the questionable assumption that these can yield meaningful and lasting change; the uncertain relevance of the results of EBT investigations for psychotherapists working with real-world clients; the foreclosure of opportunities to address clients’ unmet developmental needs and self-fragility posed by the directive/didactic therapeutic stance inherent in EBTs; and, the reduced quality of psychotherapy offered to the public at large and threats to the clinical competence of early-career mental health professionals caused by overemphasizing training in EBTs over the acquisition of relational skills in graduate schools and postgraduate training sites

Engineering ethics · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Psychotherapist · Sociology · Counseling Practices and Supervision · Engineering · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

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