Improved treatment outcome associated with the shift to empirically supported treatments in an outpatient clinic is maintained over a ten-year period
Abstract
Recent years have seen an increase in emphasis on the use of psychological treatments that are supported by empirical data, as advocates have argued these treatments lead to better patient outcomes. We have previously shown that a shift to use of empirically supported treatments in a training clinic led to significant improvement in patient outcomes over four years (Cukrowicz et al., 2005). In the current study, we examined whether average patient outcomes at termination continued to be favorable over the six-year period following the initial shift. We examined data from 549 patients (M age 25.78, SD 10.08; 322 females and 227 males) treated prior to and after the shift to empirically supported treatments, all of whom were rated after termination using the Clinical Global Impression rating scale to track their improvement during treatment. The current study found that improvements in patient outcomes continued over the six-year follow-up period. Patients treated during the follow-up period had superior outcomes when compared to those treated following the initial shift to empirically supported treatments (effect size .28, p 05) and when compared to those treated prior to the shift to empirically supported treatments (effect size 1.83, p .001). Thus, this study points both to the efficacy of empirically supported treatments in clinical practice and to the feasibility of implementing and successfully maintaining EST use in a training clinic setting.
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The use of evidence-based manuals results in lower costs of care and superior clinical outcomes than the use of unstructured approaches.
“The use of evidence-based manuals results in lower costs of care and superior clinical outcomes than the use of unstructured approaches”
From Therapist drift redux: Why well-meaning clinicians fail to deliver evidence-based therapy, and how to get back on track (2016) · cites this paper as Cukrowicz et al., 2011
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- Authors
- Cukrowicz, K. C., Timmons, K. A., Sawyer, K., Caron, K. M., Gummelt, H. D., & Joiner, T. E.
- Affiliations
- Texas Tech University (US)
- Florida State University (US)
- Venue
- Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
- Published
- 2011-04
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 145-152
- ISSN
- 0735-7028 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1323
- OpenAlex
- W2027845708
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 4.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Professional Psychology Research and Practice (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Counseling Practices and Supervision
- Keywords
- empirically supported treatments, treatment outcomes, outpatient psychotherapy, long-term follow-up, treatment discontinuation, Clinical Global Impression Scale, training clinic, evidence-based practice implementation
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