[From Brian D'Agostino (960408.0530 EST)]
···
On 960407 16:50 ET Lars Christian Smith wrote:
No matter how absurd the theoretical basis of the different
therapeutic schools, it would not be surprising if good
therapists got good results. . . . An interesting study would
therefore be not a comparison between different therapeutic
schools, but a comparison between productive and
non-productive therapists. . . . So, what do the most
productive therapists do that is different? Do you know of
any studies?
I don't know of any studies, but I do know of one attempt to solve
the problem Bill Powers noted (960405.1130 MST), namely, the lack
of agreed upon criterion of psychological health. Psychologist
Jack Block of the University of California at Berkeley devised a
single list of personality characteristics incorporating those
considered important by competing schools of psychology (_The Q-
Sort Method in Personality Assessment and Psychiatric Research_,
Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1978 [originally
published in 1961]). A self assessment version of this instrument
could be administered before and after therapy to see what
personality change had occurred, if any, by a variety of criteria.
I suspect that many therapies would fail to show any measurable
results, and that subjective impressions of improvement can be
attributed to the placebo effect. Where change _did_ occur, it
would then be a separate question to what extent the _therapist_
helped bring about such change.
Best regards,
Brian