Virginia Andreoli Mathie received her BMath and BA from the University of Waterloo and her MA and PhD in social psychology from the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill. She taught at James Madison University (JMU) for 29 years. In July 2004 she became Executive Director of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. She has held…

Comments on the report by the APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (see record 2006-05893-001) entitled Evidence-based practice in psychology. Regrettably, the task force report was largely silent on three critical issues. As a consequence, it omitted much of the evidence necessary for a complete picture of evidence-based…

In its policy rationale for evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP), the APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (see record 2006-05893-001) claims to have constituted itself with "scientists and practitioners from a wide range of perspectives and traditions, reflecting the diverse perspectives within the field" (p. 273). We…

Argues that in the past few decades, it has become increasingly evident that psychotherapy, generally speaking, is ineffective. The present paper suggests three major respects in which much (perhaps most) psychotherapy and counseling is being "misdirected or misapplied." As corollaries, alternative types of remedial endeavor are suggested. (Author)

Tara L. Kuther, the author of this article, is an associate professor of psychology at Western Connecticut State University, where she teaches courses in child, adolescent, and adult development. She is chair of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Instructional Resource Awards Task Force and the author of "The Psychology Major's…

Examines the roles of metaphysics in science and psychotherapy. Examines the views of Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos. Concludes that psychotherapy involves metaphysics in the following ways: (1) problem choice; (2) research and therapy design; (3) observation statements; (4) resolving the Duhemian problem; and (5) including anomalous results in…

This paper presents comments on the article by D. Westen and J. Weinberger, which stated that '...science can be viewed as the history of confirmatory biases" (p. 609). This comment's authors prefer an alternative formulation: The history of science can be viewed as a constant and largely successful struggle to overcome confirmatory biases.…

A large majority of graduates of university clinical training programs will not enter careers of research and scholarship but will instead enter professional practice. This fact has several implications for such training programs. The basis of professional education is disciplined knowledge. The body of knowledge and technique that comprises…

This paper presents comments on the article by D. Westen and J. Weinberger , which criticized academic clinical psychologists for being cynical about clinical judgment and clinical practice. In the authors' view, it seems unlikely that more than a few academic clinical psychologists believe that they have little to learn from clinical practice or…

This paper presents comments on "Psychological Treatments" by D. H. Barlow. Barlow highlighted unique roles that psychologists can play in mental health service delivery by providing psychological treatments--treatments that psychologists would be uniquely qualified to design and deliver. In support of Barlow's position, the authors draw from…

Barlow (1981) lists nine reasons why clinical psychologists do not undertake research and why traditional research does not influence clinicians. These reasons focus on: (1) lack of access to a large subject pool; (2) manpower costs of conducting research; (3) financial costs of conducting research; (4) ethics; (5) research's overreliance on…

In order to identify important clinical questions in long-term care settings for older adults, it may be helpful to examine the psychological consultant's role in these settings. A consultant is often faced with some staff members who think he has all the answers and by others who think he has none. The consultant may also encounter a strong…

Professional competency in psychologists wishing to treat children and families is an area of considerable concern and disagreement. Three types of practitioners comprise the bulk of the problem: clinical psychologists, who lack specific child-oriented training; developmental psychologists, who wish to serve children but lack traditional clinical…