Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Research Evidence
Bambi Survives Godzilla?
- Richard M. Glass, MD
- Author Affiliations: Dr Glass (richard.glass@jama-archives.org) is Deputy Editor, JAMA. Dr Glass is also with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- COGNITIVE THERAPY
- DRUG THERAPY
- EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE
- MENTAL DISORDERS
- PSYCHOTHERAPY
- PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
- RESEARCH
- TRANSFERENCE (PSYCHOLOGY)
In a now classic 1982 article,1 Parloff surveyed the results of psychotherapy research evidence and its relevance for policy makers and treatment reimbursement decisions, characterizing that encounter as “Bambi meets Godzilla.” He concluded that although research evidence in psychotherapy outcome at that time was “extensive and positive,” it was not responsive to the policy makers' central question, “What kinds of psychotherapy are most effective for what kinds of problems?”
Since that time, there has been a substantial increase in evidence for the efficacy of specific forms of psychotherapy for specific psychiatric disorders.2,3 In particular, the development of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT),4 a usually short-term psychotherapy focused on identifying and correcting cognitive patterns that underlie emotional and behavioral symptoms; interpersonal psychotherapy5 (IPT), a time-limited individual therapy developed for treatment of major depression; and dialectical behavioral therapy6 (DBT), a focused therapy developed for treatment of …
