Choosing your Psychotherapist

Marin Garavalia

Needing Therapy

You do not have to be crazy or mentally ill to need therapy.

Therapy is most needed when you are unable to resolve problems through normal coping mechanisms or support network.

What is Therapy?

Many different variations.

Same basic goal - to change your life to make you happier, more productive and more effective as a person.

Does it really work?Which method is

best?

Mary Lee Smith and Gene Glass

Previous studies on methods of therapy and counseling were too small in group size and number of methods tested.

Mary Lee Smith and Gene Glass, University of Colorado, reanalyzed the studies in 1977.

Method of Reanalyzing

Chose 375 studies and used meta-analysis to develop overall and relative effectiveness of counseling.

3 goals: to identify the studies, to determine the magnitude, and to compare the effects.

Smith and Glass compared all the treated subjects with the untreated subjects.

Results

Smith and Glass compared all the treated subjects with the untreated subjects.

Generally, therapy was found to be more effective than no treatment.

Psychotherapy appeared to be successful but differences between methods were insignificant.

Applications

Consider what your expectations of therapy are and the characteristics of your therapist you most care about.

Other studies have used meta-analysis: Effectiveness of group therapy, recurrent migraines, and a study of therapy for the mentally impaired.

Smith and Glass’s study encouraged focus on helping those in psychological pain, not which method was superior.