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STUDY FINDS THERAPIST IS KEY TO MENTAL HEALTH
07 May 2001 - University of Wisconsin-Madison
| The drive by HMOs to "medicalize" psychotherapy - insisting that practitioners look for a medical disorder such as clinical depression and then dispense a prescribed treatment, will ultimately suffocate psychotherapy through ignorance of how it works. |
That's the contention of Bruce Wampold, professor of counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of a new, controversial book, "The Great Psychotherapy Debate." Based on a comprehensive quantitative review of studies on psychotherapy's effectiveness, he rejects the a-pill-for-a-pain approach of HMOs and clinical scientists who use a medical model for psychotherapy. "The evidence is clear," Wampold says. "There is a dramatically greater variance in outcomes due to the therapist, compared to the chosen treatment. A person with a need for psychotherapy should seek the most competent therapist possible without regard to various therapies." In fact, Wampold's analysis shows that specific treatments or techniques account for less than 1 percent of the variance in improvement in psychotherapy patients. It's the therapist that counts, not the therapy. Wampold contends that the research does not support the current trend to identify certain treatments for particular disorders regardless of the characteristics of the patients. Instead, he proposes a contextual model that takes into account patient attitudes, values, culture and world view. Medicalizing psychotherapy has ominous overtones, he says: "Medicine, which includes the pharmaceutical companies, is a bold gorilla that will crush the warm, fuzzy psychotherapy teddy bear. For example, you are infinitely more likely to see TV ads for Prozac or Zoloft to treat depression than for psychotherapy." Wampold believes that medicine and psychotherapy can work together without forcing psychotherapy into a medical reimbursement mentality. Moreover, universities should focus their training on the therapeutic skills so important to improving clients' lives, empathetic listening and responding, building client relationships and self-reflection.
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About: University of Wisconsin-Madison
In achievement and prestige, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has long been recognized as one of America’s great universities. A public, land-grant institution, UW-Madison offers a complete spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs and student activities. Many of its programs are hailed as world leaders in instruction, research and public service.The university traces its roots to a clause in the Wisconsin Constitution, which decreed that the state should have a prominent public university. In 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin’s first governor, signed the act that formally created the university, and its first class, with 17 students, met in a Madison school building on February 5, 1849. From those humble beginnings, the university has grown into a large, diverse community, with about 40,000 students enrolled each year. These students represent every state in the nation, as well as countries from around the globe, making for a truly international population. UW-Madison is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Wisconsin System, a statewide network of 13 comprehensive universities, 13 freshman-sophomore transfer colleges and an extension service. One of two doctorate-granting universities in the system, UW-Madison’s specific mission is to provide "a learning environment in which faculty, staff and students can discover, examine critically, preserve and transmit the knowledge, wisdom and values that will help insure the survival of this and future generations and improve the quality of life for all." The university achieves these ends through innovative programs of research, teaching and public service. Throughout its history, UW-Madison has sought to bring the power of learning into the daily lives of its students through innovations such as residential learning communities and service-learning opportunities. Students also participate freely in research, which has led to life-improving inventions from more fuel-efficient engines to cutting-edge genetic therapies. Students, faculty and staff are motivated by a tradition known as the "Wisconsin Idea," described by UW President Charles Van Hise in 1904 as the compelling need to carry "the beneficent influence of the university ... to every home in the state." The Wisconsin Idea permeates the university’s work and helps forge close working relationships among university faculty and students and the state’s industries and government. |
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