ABSTRACT
To a large extent the current state of psychotherapy research seems to be characterized by a schism with regard to the factors responsible for change. According to many influential researchers, the proper form of therapy must be implemented through a process of empirical validation to weed out those treatments whose effects cannot be demonstrated to have clinical significance over other forms of treatment (i.e., placebo or psychopharmacological interventions) (Chambless, Baker, et al., 1998; Chambless, Sanderson, et al., 1996; Nathan & Gorman, 2002; Task Force, 1995). From this argument, one can infer that theory-driven techniques (embedded in empirically supported treatments) are viewed as the primary key to facilitating positive outcomes. A contrasting viewpoint states that most forms of psychotherapy are essentially equivalent (Lambert, 1992; Luborsky, Rosenthal, et al., 2002; Wampold, 2001). Researchers who ascribe to this general perspective tend to believe that the therapeutic relationship and the participants (the therapist and client per se) are primarily responsible for growth and change (Bohart, 2006; Norcross, 2002; Wampold, 2001, 2006).
