The DOI matches its Crossref record; 100 of the 100 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Defining empirically supported therapies.
Abstract
A scheme is proposed for determining when a psychological treatment for a specific problem or disorder may be considered to be established in efficacy or to be possibly efficacious.The importance of independent replication before a treatment is established in efficacy is emphasized, and a number of factors are elaborated that should be weighed in evaluating whether studies supporting a treatment's efficacy are sound.It is suggested that, in evaluating the benefits of a given treatment, the greatest weight should be given to efficacy trials but that these trials should be followed by research on effectiveness in clinical settings and with various populations and by cost-effectiveness research.In this special section, the authors of review articles have been asked to evaluate the psychological treatment research literature in their area of expertise to identify empirically supported treatments' (ESTs).Briefly, we define ESTs as clearly specified psychological treatments shown to be efficacious in controlled research with a delineated population.Thus, following Kiesler (1966), we suggest that practitioners and researchers will profit from knowing which treatments are effective for which clients or patients.That psychological treatments (undefined) benefit the majority of clients or patients (undefined) is already well established (see, e.g., M. L. Smith & Glass, 1977).Furthermore, our particular emphasis is on the effects of the treatments as independent variables.This is not to deny the importance of other factors such as the therapeutic alliance, as well as client and patient variables that affect the process and outcome of psychological therapies (see, e.g.,
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In the citing paper
“The efficacy of this treatment is supported by The Task Force Report on Empirically Supported Treatments (ESTs; Chambless & Hollon, 1998) and the 12th Division of the APA.”
From Enhancing In Vivo Exposure in the Treatment of Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia Using Location-Based Technologies: A Case Study (2020) · cites this paper as Chambless & Hollon, 1998
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, the American Psychological Association has recognized ACT as an evidence-based therapy to promote psychological (eg, depressive symptoms) and physical (eg, chronic pain) health.29”
From Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Among Informal Caregivers of People With Chronic Health Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“Following MBCT training, participants exhibit improved self-reported mindfulness (43–50), reduced rumination (43, 45–48, 51–53) and worry (43, 47, 53), improved meta-awareness (52, 54, 55), increased self-compassion (56, 57), and reduced emotional reactivity (58).”
From Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Psychiatry (2018) · cites this paper as [44]
In the citing paper
“Research has largely supported this notion, and shown that these processes are central components and active ingredients of MBCT.”
From Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Psychiatry (2018) · cites this paper as [44]
In the citing paper
“Four recent meta-analyses have addressed the long-term outcome of CBT for anxiety-related disorders, and they generally indicate a medium symptomreductionupto2yearsfollowing treatment completion.”
From Long-term Outcomes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety-Related Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as [19]
In the citing paper
“Strengths of this meta-analysis are the inclusion of more comparison groups, which yielded more studies than previous meta-analyses, 18-21”
From Long-term Outcomes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety-Related Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as [19]
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“DBT is an evidence-based and well-established treatment, according to the criteria outlined by Chambless and Hollon (1998).”
MethodStimulus control for insomnia: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
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“In 1999, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) (Morin et al., 1999) identified 12 studies investigating the efficacy of stimulus control and stated, based on the criteria developed by the American Psychological Association (Chambless & Hollon, 1998), that stimulus control is an empirically supported interventi…”
MethodZemestani, M., Beheshti, N., Rezaei, F., van der Heiden, C., & Kendall, P. C. (2021) · Behaviour Change · doi:10.1017/bec.2021.16 · Cited by 27
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“Another way is to apply the criteria for identifying empirically supported therapies (ESTs) to mediator categories (Chambless & Hollon, 1998; Southam-Gerow & Prinstein, 2014).”
MethodJuncos, D. G., & de Paiva e Pona, E. (2018) · Music & Science · doi:10.1177/2059204317748807 · Cited by 25
“…Moore (2003) applied the same standards set by the APA’s Division 12 Task Force for defining empirically supported treatments in Clinical Psychology (Chambless & Hollon, 1998) and found that none of those aforementioned PST strategies showed efficacy at the wellestablished level of support when…”
MethodResultInfluentialRudd, B. N., Last, B. S., Gregor, C., Jackson, K., Berkowitz, S., Zinny, A., Kratz, H. E., Cliggitt, L., Adams, D. R., Walsh, L. M., et al. (2019) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1002/ajcp.12370 · Cited by 24
“These findings suggest the efficacy of trauma-focused interventions, like TFCBT, as a treatment approach for PTSD. Efficacy studies, like the majority of those included in the Morina et al. (2016) meta-analysis, seek to precisely estimate average treatment effects in tightly controlled RCTs (Chambless & Hollon, 1998).”
The effectiveness of long-term psychotherapy: Methodological research issues
Maat, S. D., Dekker, J., Schoevers, R., & Jonghe, F. D. (2007) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503300600607605 · Cited by 21
“The American Psychological Association (Chambless & Hollon, 1998; Task Force on Promotion and Dis- semination of Psychological Procedures, 1995) has defined quality criteria to assess whether or not the effectiveness of a psychotherapeutic method has been sufficiently substantiated empirically to…”
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“In the 1990s, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) identified six studies examining PI and concluded, based on criteria developed by the American Psychological Association (Chambless & Hollon, 1998) that the treatment component is an empirically supported intervention (Morin et al., 1999).”
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“considered a minimum to demonstrate reliability of effect [38].”
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Robinson, S. M., Sobell, L. C., Sobell, M. B., Arcidiacono, S., & Tzall, D. (2014) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.09.029 · Cited by 13
“This makes comparative evaluations between reviews very difficult (Chambless & Hollon, 1998).”
BackgroundKekecs, Z., Moss, D., Whorwell, P. J., Varga, K., Terhune, D. B., Shenefelt, P. D., Palsson, O. S., Benedittis, G. D., & Elkins, G. (2024) · Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine · doi:10.1177/2515690x241274538 · Cited by 12
“24-26 Conducting clinical trials according to the current state of the art is not enough on its own to produce research that is useful and informative for the fi eld.”
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Finding Web-Based Anxiety Interventions on the World Wide Web: A Scoping Review
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“For treatment efficacy, the predominant model has been “empirically supported treatments” [102].”
LYNCH, T. R., & BRONNER, L. L. (2006) · Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches · doi:10.1016/b978-012088519-0/50011-3 · Cited by 10
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“In addition, for many reasons (e.g. placebo response, regression to the mean) these data cannot be taken as evidence of efficacy (Chambless and Hollon, 1998; Öst, 2008; Graham et al., 2016b).”
BackgroundThe use of CAMS and DBT to effectively treat patients who are suicidal
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Contextual Influences and Strategies for Dissemination and Implementation in Mental Health
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“22 The authors reported 82% of completed treatments, which matches the 78% adherence rate described by Zylowska et al. 13 This participation rate suggests that the mindfulness practice program adapted for ADHD populations is a feasible and well-tolerated intervention.”
ACT with Pain : measurement, efficacy and mechanisms of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
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Research into evidence-based psychological interventions needs a stronger focus on replicability
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“For example, the criteria for empirically supported treatments (ESTs; David, Lynn, & Montgomery, 2018) were laid down by the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Division 12 in the early 1990s (Chambless & Hollon, 1998; for a recent revision, see Tolin et al., 2015).”
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“Chambless and Hollon (1998) highlight the importance of knowing whether treatments have enduring effects and examining differences in efficacious treatments in terms of the durability of effects over time.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Chambless, D. L., & Hollon, S. D.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
- Published
- 1998
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 7-18
- ISSN
- 0022-006X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-2117
- OpenAlex
- W2119475075
- Cited by
- 3,067
- References
- 93
- Citations by year
- 2026: 41 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 76 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 110 · 2020: 116 · 2019: 102 · 2018: 110 · 2017: 125 · 2016: 114 · 2015: 144 · 2014: 157 · 2013: 168 · 2012: 185
- FWCI
- 93.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychology Research and Bibliometrics
- Keywords
- empirically supported treatments, treatment efficacy, replication, effectiveness research, cost-effectiveness, psychological intervention, evidence-based practice
- MeSH terms
- Mental Disorders, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Humans, Patient Compliance, Psychotherapy, Empiricism
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