Research on the Psychological Therapies for Codependency
Therapies and Their Evaluation #3
Acting out emotionally significant events can help people deal with
strong emotions that they may have been afraid to acknowledge.
Integration of Therapeutic Approaches
&
Research on the Psychological
Codependency Therapies
Many groups have a stake in the evaluation of therapeutic
effectiveness for codependency. Patients, their families, therapists, researchers,
insurance companies, legislators, and planners
of mental-health services all want to know which therapy
is most effective. Given the number of psychological
therapies, it is obvious that researchers who study these
areas have their work cut out for them. Obtaining information
about therapeutic effectiveness is not easy for
a number of reasons. For example, therapists differ in
their ability to carry out particular therapies. Furthermore,
some therapies may be more effective with certain
types of patients than others. Psychological therapy is
not a unitary process applied to a unitary problem. Research
on therapy is improving because studies are becoming
more complex and incorporating more relevant
factors into their research designs. Some of the practical
differences between laboratory experiments and research
on psychotherapy are summarized below.
Comparison of a particular therapy with a control
condition is useful, but studies that compare the effectiveness
of several treatment approaches for similar
groups of clients are even more significant. Most clinicians
agree that the same therapy will have varying effects
on different types of patients. There is a need for
experiments in which the independent variable is a specific
therapeutic procedure (such as group' therapy and
systematic desensitization) and the dependent variable is
some aspect· of behavior (such as frequency of suicidal
thoughts):
Before a research project is carried out for codependency treatment, there must
be agreement on how to measure the results. For example,
suppose a researcher intends to assess the effectiveness of
different therapies designed to reduce the
tendency to hallucinate. One way to measure the dependent
variable would be to count the number of times
people report having hallucinatory experiences. But
people might have hallucinations that they did not report,
or might make up such experiences just to have
something to report. Thus, whereas some clinicians
might contend that frequency of reported hallucinations
is a reasonable index of the general tendency to hallucinate,
others might not be satisfied with this conclusion.
In any research, all groups of subjects must be as
similar or equal as .possible before the experiment begins.
The therapists in the various groups should also be
comparable. Many other factors must also be controlled.
For instance, suppose the staff on the ward of a mental
hospital believe that their program is a significant therapeutic
innovation. Their enthusiasm for the program
might, by itself influence the patients in their care.
When therapists who base their techniques on different
perspectives discuss their work, there are inevitable differences
of opinion. The issues that separate the various
schools of thought seem substantial. Should therapists
actively direct patients toward behavioral change, or
should they focus on the development of insight?
Should therapy delve into the past or examine the present?
Should its duration be long or short? Despite the
different ways in which these questions are answered,
there is evidence of a movement toward the integration
of therapeutic approaches. "Talking therapies," such as
psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, are placing
more emphasis on the need of patients to take responsibility
for themselves and develop self-mastery. Behavioral
therapies are giving increased attention to the cognitive
underpinnings of behavioral change. Often this
means helping patients acquire insight into their misconceptions
about themselves and their social relationships.
Acting out emotionally significant events can help people deal with
strong emotions that they may have been afraid to acknowledge.
Integration of Therapeutic Approaches
&
Research on the Psychological
Codependency Therapies
Many groups have a stake in the evaluation of therapeutic
effectiveness for codependency. Patients, their families, therapists, researchers,
insurance companies, legislators, and planners
of mental-health services all want to know which therapy
is most effective. Given the number of psychological
therapies, it is obvious that researchers who study these
areas have their work cut out for them. Obtaining information
about therapeutic effectiveness is not easy for
a number of reasons. For example, therapists differ in
their ability to carry out particular therapies. Furthermore,
some therapies may be more effective with certain
types of patients than others. Psychological therapy is
not a unitary process applied to a unitary problem. Research
on therapy is improving because studies are becoming
more complex and incorporating more relevant
factors into their research designs. Some of the practical
differences between laboratory experiments and research
on psychotherapy are summarized below.
Comparison of a particular therapy with a control
condition is useful, but studies that compare the effectiveness
of several treatment approaches for similar
groups of clients are even more significant. Most clinicians
agree that the same therapy will have varying effects
on different types of patients. There is a need for
experiments in which the independent variable is a specific
therapeutic procedure (such as group' therapy and
systematic desensitization) and the dependent variable is
some aspect· of behavior (such as frequency of suicidal
thoughts):
Before a research project is carried out for codependency treatment, there must
be agreement on how to measure the results. For example,
suppose a researcher intends to assess the effectiveness of
different therapies designed to reduce the
tendency to hallucinate. One way to measure the dependent
variable would be to count the number of times
people report having hallucinatory experiences. But
people might have hallucinations that they did not report,
or might make up such experiences just to have
something to report. Thus, whereas some clinicians
might contend that frequency of reported hallucinations
is a reasonable index of the general tendency to hallucinate,
others might not be satisfied with this conclusion.
In any research, all groups of subjects must be as
similar or equal as .possible before the experiment begins.
The therapists in the various groups should also be
comparable. Many other factors must also be controlled.
For instance, suppose the staff on the ward of a mental
hospital believe that their program is a significant therapeutic
innovation. Their enthusiasm for the program
might, by itself influence the patients in their care.
When therapists who base their techniques on different
perspectives discuss their work, there are inevitable differences
of opinion. The issues that separate the various
schools of thought seem substantial. Should therapists
actively direct patients toward behavioral change, or
should they focus on the development of insight?
Should therapy delve into the past or examine the present?
Should its duration be long or short? Despite the
different ways in which these questions are answered,
there is evidence of a movement toward the integration
of therapeutic approaches. "Talking therapies," such as
psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, are placing
more emphasis on the need of patients to take responsibility
for themselves and develop self-mastery. Behavioral
therapies are giving increased attention to the cognitive
underpinnings of behavioral change. Often this
means helping patients acquire insight into their misconceptions
about themselves and their social relationships.