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Child and adolescent psychotherapy outcomes in experiments versus clinics: Why the disparity?

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Abstract

In a recent article, Weisz, Weiss, and Donenberg (1992) compared the effects of child and adolescent psychotherapy in experimental studies and in studies of clinic practice. Here we update that report with new information and we explore 10 possible reasons why, to date, therapy in experiments appears to have shown larger effect sizes than therapy in clinics. We find that beneficial therapy effects are associated with three factors which are more common in research therapy than in clinic therapy: (a) the use of behavioral (including cognitive-behavioral) methods, (b) reliance on specific, focused therapy methods rather than mixed and eclectic approaches, and (c) provision of structure (e.g., through treatment manuals) and monitoring (e.g., through review of therapy tapes) to foster adherence to treatment plans. These three factors all involve dimensions along which clinic procedures could be altered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California at Los Angeles, 90024, Los Angeles, California, USA

    John R. Weisz, Geri R. Donenberg, Susan S. Han & Danika Kauneckis

Authors
  1. John R. Weisz
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  2. Geri R. Donenberg
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  3. Susan S. Han
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  4. Danika Kauneckis
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Additional information

The work reported here was supported in part through grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH38240 and R03 MH34652) to the first author. For a more detailed treatment of the issues discussed here, and a more detailed description of the studies and meta-analyses reviewed, see the book,Effects of Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents (Weisz & Weiss, 1993).

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Weisz, J.R., Donenberg, G.R., Han, S.S. et al. Child and adolescent psychotherapy outcomes in experiments versus clinics: Why the disparity?. J Abnorm Child Psychol 23, 83–106 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447046

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447046

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