What does “Evidence-Informed Therapy” mean? Why does that matter?

Several researchers have made the point that, without a treatment plan and organizing theory that is evidence-based, a therapist can waste a lot of clients’ time.

Some areas of the counselling field have considerable research on what works, others are still in their infancy. We know a great deal about effective treatment for couples and for complex trauma. Research debunked ideas such as “Communication is what couples should work on in therapy”, and “overbearing mothers are responsible for people with schizophrenia having that illness”. We do know that neglect of a child in their pre-verbal years is deeply traumatic. But we don’t know much yet about the intersect of learning differences (dyslexia, AD/HD, visual vs auditory, processing speed, creative divergent thinkers and convergent thinkers, introverts and extroverts, Highly Sensitive People, left-handedness, and so on) and couples counselling, or trauma treatment with EMDR vs MBAT, and so on. So it is important that you choose a therapist who tries to stay abreast of psychological and educational research.

Want to know more? Read up on Seligman, Scott Miller, John Gottman, Sue Johnson’s articles, Gemma Jones… or ask Ros Best for a more tailored reading list.