What is Evidence Based Therapy?

The push for Evidence-Based Therapy is a movement in psychology that aims to track the efficacy of treatment plans so that clients only undergo treatments which have been proven to work.

Evidence-based therapy (EBT), also sometimes more broadly referred to as Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) to encompass more fields of medicine, is any therapy based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence. According to the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, evidence-based practice is defined by:

“Adherence to psychological approaches and techniques that are based on scientific evidence”.

The American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association both consider EBT/EBP to be:

“Best Practice’ and ‘preferred’ approaches for psychological symptom treatment”.

Evidence-based medicine has also been defined as the:

“Conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients” (Sackett et al., 1996)."

This definition has since expanded to include 'consideration of patients’ preferences, actions, clinical state, and circumstances' (Cook et al., 2017). This expansion of the definition is particularly important in the context of psychotherapy. For our purposes, we can consider evidence-based therapy or practice to refer to psychotherapy practices which have been proven effective rather than purely based in theory.

Here are some of those approaches.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

is a name used for a broad range of psychotherapies that aim to help clients overcome dysfunctional thought patterns and behavioral patterns. These psychotherapies have several characteristics in common, for example, all forms of CBT are based on the idea that thoughts primarily affect our emotions and actions. As a result, CBT focuses on changing and controlling the way the client deals with his or her thoughts. CBT therapists may encourage clients to challenge the damaging beliefs and assumptions they have about themselves and their world. These therapies are popular with therapists and clients because they achieve rapid results and are time-limited. CBT has been proven effective for the treatment of general anxiety disorder, depression, insomnia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health issues. CBT is just as effective as medication for some disorders, such as anxiety and insomnia, and several studies indicate that it may be even more effective than medication in the long term.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

is a type of psychological intervention that focuses on the development of psychological flexibility, or the ability to contact the present moment and accept negative thoughts without judgment. Created by Steven C. Hayes, Kirk D. Strosahl, and Kelly G. Wilson, ACT focuses on directing behavior in ways that match clients’ core values. Unlike cognitive behavioral therapy, ACT does not stress the importance of controlling thoughts, feelings, or mental health disorder symptoms; instead, ACT therapists encourage their clients to accept their feelings unconditionally, even when those feelings are initially very painful. Therapists using ACT help their clients define a set of core values—goals or states of mind that are important to the client. With these core values in mind, the client commits to acting in ways that reinforce and further these values regardless of the limits and restrictions imposed on them by their condition. The six core principles of ACT are cognitive defusion, acceptance, contact with the present moment, observing the self, values, and committed action. ACT has been proven effective for the treatment of depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, eating disorders, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and myriad other mental health issues.