Michael Ettinger

11/24/14
Lab 4
Justice Morath
*775 Words
Psychotherapy
Read the article Choosing Your Psychotherapist. Answer the following
questions. Make sure your responses add up to 750 words.
1. Overall, is psychotherapy effective? What evidence is there that therapy
is effective?
a. Psychotherapy is generally effective when there is a close, caring and
trusting relationship between the therapy and the client. All types of
therapy work towards the same goal, which is achieving a higher level
of happiness, quality, and productivity in a clients life. The challenge
in quantifying or assessing the effectiveness of psychotherapy as a
treatment option is that many/most of the studies conducted seem to
affirm the particular method used by the researchers themselves. This
may be bias, or it may represent a familiarity and fluency with their
preferred method, which leads them to being more proficient with
applying and interpreting that method in the study. Another aspect of
these therapy studies that makes it hard to have a general consensus
regarding effectiveness is that the studies are small in terms of the
number of subjects as well the diversity of research methods. They are
also spread out in a large landscape of books, journals, databases and
universities, which makes consolidating findings very difficult.
b. There was a study conducted by researchers at the University of
Colorado consolidating 375 separate studies attempting to determine
the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Many, but not all of the studies
only looked at specific types as opposed to the practice as a whole.
The study measured positive affects by the occurrence of changes
such as: increased self-esteem, reductions in anxiety, improvements in
schoolwork, and improvements in general adjustment. The average
age of all 25,000 participants was 22 years.
c. The study found that the average individual receiving therapy was
better off when compared to 75% of the untreated control
individuals. Only 12% of individuals were worse off following

therapy, and if psychotherapy were ineffective this would be much

higher (around 50%).
d. The study measured the different markers for effectiveness
independently as well, and both levels of anxiety reduction and the
improvement in self esteem among the treated participants were
greater than 80% of the untreated control group. These two outcome
measures are the most significant measures determining effectiveness.
2. Are certain types of therapy more effective than others?
a. The researchers also separated seven disciplines in the field of
psychotherapy and compared the effectiveness across/between two
groupings of those therapies. It was shown the differences in
effectiveness were minimal, supporting the belief that other studies
claiming the superiority of certain methods are unjustified.
b. It is likely that across the various methods of psychotherapy, the
simple fact that a trusting relationship is developed between the client
and the therapist, the competence of the therapist, and the successful
application of the therapists preferred method are all more significant
factors in creating a successful therapeutic experience than the
differences between specific methods.
c. However, depending on personal characteristics and previous
experiments can and should make certain types of experience more
effective. Different personalities are extremely difficult to quantify
and measure in a study such as this, and they are inherently subjective
delineations that would be made judging/assessing personality traits
and their relation to therapy methods. This compromises the important
objectivity needed.
d. This study was an extremely significant one in terms of the history of
psychology. It helped removed the need for researchers to search for
proof of superiority among different psychotherapy techniques, and
likely resulted in an increase in the confident/effective application of
the preferred methods by therapists as individuals.
3. Would you ever do therapy? Why or why not?
a. Yes, I currently am undergoing therapy and have for 11 years now. I
find myself continually searching for a therapist that I can develop an
honest and comfortable therapeutic relationship with. I have seen the
same therapist for over a year and have naively believed that his
coaching and our conversations are helping when it is in fact a more
intense and deeper level of therapy that I would benefit from.
b. This is proof that the particular relationship between the therapist and
the client, as well as the proficiency/commitment level of the therapist
and their application of a method is of paramount importance in
achieving a significant level of effectiveness. I think the simple fact
that I have someone to talk to is a benefit, but I feel that actual

therapeutic methods/approaches have fallen by the wayside in favor of

advice giving and a more friendly dialogue.
c. Following research conducted after the aforementioned study touched
on two matters that are very relevant in my life; depression and
headaches. It seems group therapy can be an extremely helpful
process in treating depression, resulting in improvement over 85%
higher than that of the untreated individuals. Also, relaxation
training, biofeedback, and stress management interventions can
reduce the occurrence of migraine headaches by 35-50%. This
reduction is close to the effectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs and that
is very significant.