Monitor on Psychology - February 2013

Why are some psychologists better at providing therapy than others? “It’s quite surprising how little research has been devoted to [answering this question], particularly given its importance in psychotherapy training,” says Bruce Wampold, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

But that dearth of knowledge is about to change, thanks to
a six-year effort involving Wampold and other internationally
recognized psychotherapy researchers. In April, the 32-person
group — led by Pennsylvania State University psychology
professor Louis Castonguay, PhD, and University of Maryland
psychology professor
Clara Hill, PhD —
held the first of three
conferences at Penn
State to delineate the
characteristics of “good
The group seeks
to identify the
characteristics associated
with successful therapists,
establish what therapists
are doing, thinking and
feeling (and not doing,
thinking and feeling)
when they are conducting
effective sessions, and
pinpoint factors that
assist in or interfere with
effective treatments.

It’s a process the group is already familiar with: They’ve been meeting since 2001 to discuss the process of change and have published two APA books on provocative topics in psychotherapy — insight and corrective experiences.

And psychotherapy effectiveness is a timely topic, given the growing body of research that shows that for many psychological problems psychotherapy works better in the long term and is more cost-effective and long-lasting than medication, says Katherine C. Nordal, PhD, APA’s executive director for professional practice.

“Hundreds of studies have found that psychotherapy is an
effective way to help people make positive changes in their
lives,” Nordal says. “Compared with medication, psychotherapy
has fewer side effects and lower instances of relapse when
discontinued.”
He had just attended a symposium at the Mid-Atlantic Society
for Psychotherapy Research. He, Hill and several other attendee
approached the speakers to talk about their findings. In the
discussion that followed, Hill commented that informal
gatherings like this one were often what she looked forward to
most when attending a conference because the open-minded
and spontaneous nature of such get-togethers typically led to
new ideas about what is going on in therapy and what facilitates
positive outcomes.

Research suggests that effective
therapists have a sophisticated
set of interpersonal skills,
including verbal fluency, warmth,
acceptance, empathy and an
ability to identify how a patient
is feeling. They also can form
strong therapeutic alliances with
a range of patients.