While our perusal as experts is interesting, the reality is that those in favor of psychodynamic therapy will tout this forever more. Just like Vicary's studies of subliminal perception are still being used, just as my student affairs department this week told me in no uncertain terms to leave them alone as they are the experts in the field of student development and if they want to use Kohlberg's model as THE model for developing disciplinary actions at the university I MUST rely on their expertise and back off. No Discussion. Just as people will continue to believe in facilitated communication. Just as our freshmen are being given learning styles inventories so they can optimize their learning over the next four years, just as our HR department uses the MBTI in training workshops, etc. etc. It's been published and no amount of criticism, critique or commentary will take this tool away from those who needed it.
Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---- Original message ---- >Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 10:18:44 -0400 >From: Allen Esterson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: [tips] Psychoanalytic Therapy Wins Backing >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> > >Re the meta-analysis "Effectiveness of Long-term Psychodynamic >Pyschotherapy: >http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/300/13/1551 > >My two attempts to purchase the article at the Jama website failed, but >Mike Palij has kindly emailed the article to me (unsolicited). It needs >someone with far more expertise than I have to examine the meta-analysis, >but for what they're worth, here are some comments. > >1. The 12 "observational studies" had no control groups. > >2. For the 11 Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (LTPP) studies which >included randomized control groups: > >The treatment of the control groups was a mish-mash of different >psychotherapeutic procedures. These ranged from >(a) TAU (treatment as usual), which seems to be ill-defined, and includes, >e.g., continuing G.P. care. >(b) Different kinds of cognitive behavioral therapies, such as "dialectical >behavioural therapy" and "cognitive analytic therapy". >(c) In one instance the treatment of a sub-group of the control group was >described as "Control/nutritional counselling". >(d) In three of the studies the control group treatments were split into >"1st LTPP condition" and "2nd LTPP condition", which seems to mean Long >Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy applied to specific conditions. That the >control for LTPP should be LTPP applied to specific conditions seems a bit >odd to me. (Maybe it means something else, but LTPP is evidently involved >for the control groups.) > >I see no evidence here that these studies show that the psychodynamic part >of Long Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for the reported >psychiatric/psychological problems is crucial for the improvements in the >respective conditions. For that there would need to be studies with control >groups treated over equal lengths of time with psychotherapy/counselling by >therapists who had not been trained to use psychodynamic methods, and did >not make probing for unconscious motivations a significant part of the >treatment. > >Again, there is no attempt to differentiate between the psychodynamic >psychotherapies, as if they are all much of a muchness, and I would like to >know whether these adhered to more-or-less the same principles, or covered >a variety of principles, in the sense that the therapists were informed by >different psychodynamic notions, and sought to uncover very different kinds >of unconscious motivations. (It might well turn out that the psychodynamic >psychotherapists were generally eclectic in their approach, but that is >something I would certainly be interested to know.) > >Allen Esterson >Former lecturer, Science Department >Southwark College, London >http://www.esterson.org > >--- >To make changes to your subscription contact: > >Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
