ABSTRACT
Psychotherapy consists of techniques for treating distress, psychiatric disorder, and behavioral problems, or for enhancing well-being and personal growth, through discussion between a patient and a therapist. The practice is multidisciplinary, and may be performed by a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, counselor, psychiatric nurse, or other individuals with advanced mental health training. Treatment typically requires multiple
CONTENTS
24.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 325 24.2 Speci c Methodological Issues in Assessing This Treatment ............. 326
24.2.1 Choice of a Comparison Condition ............................................. 326 24.2.2 Equating a Comparison Condition
with an Active Treatment ...................................................... 327 24.2.3 Assigning Therapists to Conditions............................................ 328 24.2.4 Manualization ................................................................................ 329 24.2.5 Training, Supervision, and Monitoring ...................................... 329 24.2.6 Group Treatment ............................................................................ 329
24.3 Practical Examples .....................................................................................330 24.3.1 VA Cooperative Study #420: Group Psychotherapy
for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ................................................ 331 24.3.2 VA Cooperative Study #494: Individual Psychotherapy
for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ................................................ 332 24.3.3 Speci c Issues and Solutions in Designing
CSP #420 and CSP #494 ................................................................. 332 24.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................335 References .............................................................................................................336
sessions; for example, the US National Comorbidity Survey Replication used various national standards to de ne minimally adequate treatment as eight sessions of at least 30 min each [1].
