ABSTRACT

This chapter examines that debate and available findings about outcomes in psychotherapy. There has been considerable debate about the effectiveness of psychotherapy. In 1953, Hans Eysenck issued a major challenge to the practice of psychotherapy by suggesting that the data available indicated that psychotherapy was ineffective. Eysenck's challenge raised a question about whether psychotherapy, long shielded behind closed doors, could withstand examination into its effectiveness in helping individuals with their problems. And although this represented somewhat of a public relations disaster for psychotherapy in the mid-1950s, it also spurred the growth of psychotherapy research. Eysenck's challenge was met by several thoughtful rejoinders illuminating his errors in evaluating contemporary research of that time, especially in grossly overestimating the level of change that typically occurs without treatment. Fortunately, the debate spurred much more methodologically rigorous psychotherapy research. The best practice of psychotherapy is grounded in the full range of research available about psychotherapy.