Clinical Trials of Clinical Psychology Treatments

Catalog description

The course examines clinical trials of clinical psychology treatment paradigms (e.g., behavioral therapy compared to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy), specific treatment mechanisms (e.g., the efficacy of specific cognitive restructuring techniques), effects of treatment on different populations/ subpopulations (e.g., type of disorder/condition, culture, socioeconomic status, sex/gender), and the influence of individual difference characteristics of the therapist and client, and how these characteristics are found to interact with other factors (e.g., treatment approaches). This class does not teach clinical techniques but rather examines the research literature that evaluates which treatment approaches and specific techniques appear to work the best for a given client from a given population. It is the professor’s intention to model and promote “unbiased” evaluation of clinical trial findings, with an emphasis on meta-analyses and systematic reviews of multiple trials. Statistics and research design issues will be reviewed and expanded upon to aid in understanding clinical trials and meta-analyses. Critical scientific thinking (e.g., understanding issues that might limit the endorsement of study conclusions) will be modeled and taught to better enable the student to reach their own tentative conclusions based on the empirical literature.