What is the scientific meaning of empirically supported therapy?
Abstract
It is important to define precisely what is and is not meant by "empirically supported treatments," rigorously based on what is actually known about the nature of experimental therapy research. The criteria for empirically supported treatments merely allow conclusions about whether treatments cause any change beyond the causative effect of such factors as placebo or the passage of time. Applied implications are limited, due to external validity and to the fact that applied decisions are influenced by cost-benefit analyses. Creating increasingly effective therapies through between-group designs is best done by controlled trials specifically aimed at basic questions about the nature of psychological problems and the nature of therapeutic change mechanisms. Naturalistic research is important for external validity but is valuable only if it uses scientifically valid methods to address basic knowledge questions.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Component studies provide an elegant way to identify the active ingredients of psychotherapies.
“These studies provide an elegant way to identify the active ingredients of psychotherapies (Borkovec & Costonguay 1998).”
From The Role of Common Factors in Psychotherapy Outcomes (2019) · cites this paper as Borkovec & Costonguay 1998
Component studies are an important tool for examining how therapies work, and they provide an appropriate way to identify the active elements of interventions.
“As mentioned above, component studies are an important tool for examining how therapies work, and they provide an appropriate way to identify the active elements of interventions [48].”
Cites
(1963) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 15,085 · see citing works
Jacobson, N. S., & Truax, P. (1991) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.59.1.12 · Cited by 7,770 · see citing works
Defining empirically supported therapies.
Chambless, D. L., & Hollon, S. D. (1998) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-006x.66.1.7 · Cited by 3,067 · see citing works
Defining empirically supported therapies.
Chambless, D. L., & Hollon, S. D. (1998) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.66.1.7 · Cited by 3,067 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Of course, the Task Force (1995) and the Chambless and Hollon (1998) article did not intend to address this question, and”
BackgroundInfluentialUpdate on empirically validated therapies, II: (619622010-001)
Chambless, D. L., Baker, M. J., Baucom, D. H., Beutler, L. E., Calhoun, K. S., Crits-Christoph, P., Daiuto, A., DeRubeis, R., Detweiler, J., Haaga, D. A. F., et al. (1997) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e619622010-001 · Cited by 1,488 · see citing works
Structural analysis of social behavior.
Benjamin, L. S. (1974) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0037024 · Cited by 1,011 · see citing works
Research-informed psychotherapy
Grawe, K. (1997) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503309712331331843 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Conceptual, methodological, and ethical problems of placebo groups in psychotherapy research.
O'Leary, K. D., & Borkovec, T. D. (1978) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037//0003-066x.33.9.821 · Cited by 229 · see citing works
Self-citationCastonguay, L. G. (1993) · Journal of Psychotherapy Integration · doi:10.1037/h0101171 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Depersonalization, fantasies, and coping behavior in clinical context
Wolfradt, U., & Engelmann, S. (1999) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199902)55:2 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The efficacy of motivational interviewing: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials
Burke, B. L., Arkowitz, H., & Menchola, M. (2003) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.71.5.843 · Cited by 1,575 · see citing works
Westen, D., Novotny, C. M., & Thompson-Brenner, H. (2004) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.631 · Cited by 1,212 · see citing works
Reenvisioning Clinical Science: Unifying the Discipline to Improve the Public Health
Onken, L. S., Carroll, K. M., Shoham, V., Cuthbert, B. N., & Riddle, M. (2014) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/2167702613497932 · Cited by 872 · see citing works
“…development research that is inspired by and consistent with calls to action to identify mechanisms of change as a way of improving interventions (e.g., Borkovec & Castonguay, 1998; Hayes, Long, Levin, & Follette, in press; Kazdin, 2001; Kazdin & Nock, 2003; Rounsaville, Carroll, & Onken, 2001a).”
The Role of Common Factors in Psychotherapy Outcomes
Cuijpers, P., Reijnders, M., & Huibers, M. J. H. (2019) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050718-095424 · Cited by 748 · see citing works
Westen, D., & Morrison, K. (2001) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.69.6.875 · Cited by 635 · see citing works
Rosen, G. M., & Davison, G. C. (2003) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/0145445503027003003 · Cited by 305 · see citing works
Domhardt, M., Geßlein, H., von Rezori, R. E., & Baumeister, H. (2019) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.22860 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Herbert, J. (2000) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/s0272-7358(99)00017-3 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Gloster, A. T., Wittchen, H.-U., Einsle, F., Lang, T., Helbig-Lang, S., Fydrich, T., Fehm, L., Hamm, A. O., Richter, J., Alpers, G. W., et al. (2011) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0023584 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Contemporary cognitive behavior therapy: A review of theory, history, and evidence
Thoma, N., Pilecki, B., & McKay, D. (2015) · Psychodynamic Psychiatry · doi:10.1521/pdps.2015.43.3.423 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Are the parts as good as the whole? A meta-analysis of component treatment studies.
Bell, E. C., Marcus, D. K., & Goodlad, J. K. (2013) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0033004 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
United we stand: emphasizing commonalities across cognitive-behavioral therapies.
Mennin, D. S., Ellard, K. K., Fresco, D. M., & Gross, J. J. (2013) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2013.02.004 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
“Drawbacks to this “horse race” approach have been noted throughout numerous articles (Borkovec & Castonguay, 1998; Lohr, 2011).”
BackgroundBrand, B., Classen, C., Lanins, R., Loewenstein, R., McNary, S., Pain, C., & Putnam, F. (2009) · Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy · doi:10.1037/a0016210 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
Is the Dodo bird endangered in the 21st century? A meta-analysis of treatment comparison studies
Marcus, D. K., O'Connell, D., Norris, A. L., & Sawaqdeh, A. (2014) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2014.08.001 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Cuijpers, P., Cristea, I. A., Karyotaki, E., Reijnders, M., & Hollon, S. D. (2019) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503307.2017.1395922 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Jameson, J. P., & Blank, M. B. (2007) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.2007.00089.x · Cited by 131 · see citing works
An open trial of integrative therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.
Newman, M. G., Castonguay, L. G., Borkovec, T. D., Fisher, A. J., & Nordberg, S. S. (2008) · Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training · doi:10.1037/0033-3204.45.2.135 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Self-citationDomhardt, M., Steubl, L., Boettcher, J., Buntrock, C., Karyotaki, E., Ebert, D. D., Cuijpers, P., & Baumeister, H. (2021) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101953 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Domhardt, M., Steubl, L., & Baumeister, H. (2020) · Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie · doi:10.1024/1422-4917/a000625 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Nordahl, H. M., Borkovec, T. D., Hagen, R., Kennair, L. E. O., Hjemdal, O., Solem, S., Hansen, B., Haseth, S., & Wells, A. (2018) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjo.2018.54 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Self-citationBorkovec, T. D., & Sibrava, N. J. (2005) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.20127 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationBorkovec, T. D., Newman, M. G., & Castonguay, L. G. (2003) · CNS Spectrums · doi:10.1017/s1092852900018642 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Self-citationMeasuring the active elements of cognitive-behavioral therapies
Cohen, Z. D., Barnes-Horowitz, N. M., Forbes, C. N., & Craske, M. G. (2023) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2023.104364 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Herbert, J. D., & Gaudiano, B. A. (2005) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.20133 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Domhardt, M., Nowak, H., Engler, S., Baumel, A., Grund, S., Mayer, A., Terhorst, Y., & Baumeister, H. (2021) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102084 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Preface: The Current Status of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychiatric Disorders
Olatunji, B. O., & Hollon, S. D. (2010) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.psc.2010.04.015 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Cognitive behavior therapies for psychotic disorders: Current empirical status and future directions
Gaudiano, B. A. (2005) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy/bpi004 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Steubl, L., Sachser, C., Baumeister, H., & Domhardt, M. (2019) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-019-1190-6 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Mira, A., Díaz-García, A., Castilla, D., Campos, D., Romero, S., Bretón-López, J., García-Palacios, A., Baños, R., & Botella, C. (2019) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-019-2099-2 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies for Anxiety
Orsillo, S. M., Roemer, L., & Holowka, D. W. (2007) · Series in Anxiety and Related Disorders · doi:10.1007/0-387-25989-9_1 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
La terapia cognitivo-comportamentale contemporanea: teoria, storia ed evidenze empiriche
Thoma, N., Pilecki, B., & McKay, D. (2016) · Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane · doi:10.3280/pu2016-001003
- Authors
- Borkovec, T. D., & Costonguay, L. G.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
- Published
- 1998
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 136-142
- ISSN
- 0022-006X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-2117
- OpenAlex
- W2140011127
- Cited by
- 211
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 13.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH039172, MH-39172)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychology Research and Bibliometrics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics
- Keywords
- empirically supported treatments, treatment efficacy, placebo effect, generalizability, cost-benefit analysis, naturalistic study, therapeutic mechanisms
- MeSH terms
- Mental Disorders, Humans, Psychotherapy, Research, Empiricism
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
