The authors of Psychotherapy Brown Bag are enjoying a brief vacation this week and, as such, we will be publishing a series of short posts regarding recommended sites, articles, and products. We hope you will find these posts useful. We will have limited access to the site, but will be notified of comments and will publish them as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we hope all readers enjoy their week.
Today, I would like to help readers learn about and navigate an important website. The site (follow this link), which presents the work of the Society of Clinical Psychology, American Psychological Association Division 12, details which therapies have research indicating they are useful for specific disorders and how strong that research is.
APA Division 12's website is useful for a variety of reasons. Personally, I use it as a reference tool, reminding myself of the research base behind the use of particular treatments for particular disorders. This is important as therapies do not maintain one single value. What works for one or even a variety of mental illnesses might not work at all for another. This site quickly describes how much research supports the use of a particular treatment in certain circumstances and mentions if controversy surrounds any findings. Below is a description of how to utilize this site:
"I want to know which treatments have been shown to work in treating a specific disorder"This is one of the most valuable services provided by Division 12. Simply click on the disorders tab, and a new page will open listing a variety of conditions (e.g., depression, insomnia, chronic pain, generalized anxiety disorder). Click on the link for the disorder that interests you and a new page will open that provides a description of the disorder and lists all empirically supported treatments (ESTs) for that disorder. Click on the links for those particular treatments for further information on the amount of research that supports its use for that disorder and a description of the treatment itself.
"I want to learn more about a type of treatment and which mental illnesses it can be used to treat"Division 12 provides a similar tool as that described above in order to answer this question. Simply click on the treatments tab and a page will open that lists a variety of psychological treatments. You can then click on the link for a particular treatment to learn more about what it entails and how much research supports its use in treating specific mental illnesses.
"I want to share my experiences with a treatment and get an answer to a question"Division 12 encourages feedback from consumers, researchers, and clinicians regarding the material on the site or the site itself. Simply click on their contact us link and you will be directed to information that will help you get an answer to your question or share your thoughts on a particular topic.
"What about children and adolescents? These results are all for adults"ESTs for child and adolescent psychopathology are promoted by APA Division 53 at this link. This website has similar features to the Division 12 site, allowing readers to search by groups of disorders to find information on treatments.
"What information goes into these sites? Are they just promoting one therapy and discounting others? Is the information even current?"The authors of these sites are not proponents of a specific therapeutic modality. They are, instead, proponents of treatments that have evidence indicating that they actually work. In other words, they are the type of clinicians who would learn a new approach if data indicated it was better than their current practices, thereby ensuring the best treatment of their clients rather than simply aiming to protect their initial views of an alternative approach.
The information is updated as new empirical research is published, thereby ensuring that readers are provided with current information regarding whether a treatment has been shown useful in treating a particular mental illness.
"Are there other resources that provide similar information?"Absolutely. In addition to our own articles on Psychotherapy Brown Bag, there are a variety of other sites readers can use to inform themselves about ESTs. Simply click on the links tab on the Division 12 website and you will be directed to a variety of sites offering similar services.
