What is Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health?

I want to talk about the importance of what we in the mental health field call “evidence-based practice” or “evidence-based medicine,” and why it differs from talking to somebody about your problems. To do that, I’d like to take you back to a time when I was seriously questioning my career choices:

I was a year or two into graduate school, sitting in a classroom ahead of a course in research methodology, when my professor posed a question to all of us in the room.  As a way of introducing the topic of “evidence-based practice,” he asked the group of aspiring psychologists: “What makes your service any different from a hairdresser or barber?”  We all chuckled a bit, but as psychologists do, our professor let the question linger for a moment in Socratic fashion.

He went on, “Think about it. In short order, patients will come to you, sit in a chair, and talk about what’s bothering them for 30 to 60 minutes.  They will get something off their chest, gain some insight into their problems, and leave their chair feeling better about themselves.  Many people go to their hairdresser or barber for 30 to 60 minutes, sit in a chair, talk about their problems for a bit, and leave their chair feeling better about themselves, but with a new haircut.  Are these services really that different?”

All of us looked nervously at each other, thinking “of course they’re different,” but all hesitated to answer the rhetorical question with a convincing response.  I began to think about the years of my life I spent studying as an undergraduate, preparing for standardized tests, the hours spent in research labs and preparing for graduate school interviews.  The essays, letters of recommendation, and research on graduate programs.  Should I have just traded all of that for some hair clippers?  The inclination to search Amazon to price out grooming kits hit quickly.

The answer to the question is evidence-based practice.  I understand the inclination to seek out psychotherapy because someone “wants to talk about their problems,” and to be sure there’s a safe space to process their thoughts and feelings during stressful times in their life.  However, psychotherapy has additional benefits above and beyond providing that space to air your

What is Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health?

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is a systematic approach to mental health treatment that combines clinical expertise, patient preferences, and the best available research.

For example, when a patient comes to meet with a therapist, the therapist will first do an assessment to see what the person’s collection of symptoms looks like and whether it fits an established mental health diagnosis. Based on that diagnosis, psychotherapists can then select interventions that have been proven to be effective for people who have symptoms like the patient’s. This is one of the ways that we can have confidence that what we do in our therapy visits is more likely to be effective than just giving someone space to “talk about their problems.”

Using the Scientific Method in Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health

There’s value in looking at evidence-based practice in psychotherapy through the lens of the scientific method.  In short, this suggests that psychotherapy should be like the way a scientist would address problems in their field via

1. Observation
2. Generating hypotheses
3. Testing these hypotheses with experiments
4. Analyzing the data
5. Summarizing their conclusions

Many patients come into therapy because they believe that something’s changed for the worse, or they recognize they need assistance in an area related to mental health (observation).  An intake assessment can help begin to unravel what might be contributing to and maintaining that problem (generating hypotheses). The therapist would then use the existing evidence base to select an intervention that has been effective for others with similar symptoms (testing via experimentation), and measure what effect this intervention has on their mood, anxiety, and/or behavior (analysis).  This cycle is repeated until the patient is satisfied with the outcome.

Effective Evidence-Based Therapies in Mental Health

There are decades of research looking into talk therapy options that are effective for a wide variety of mental health conditions. You may have heard of treatment options like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Exposure Therapy and many others. These treatments give psychotherapists a blueprint on what actions might help the people we work with feel better.

Conclusion: Embracing Evidence-Based Practice for Better Mental Health Outcomes

In the end, no, therapy and a good haircut aren’t the same thing. While both might leave you feeling better, only one is backed by decades of research, careful assessment, and clinical expertise.

Let Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates Listen and Help You

When we at Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates identify as an academically minded practice, it’s because many of our providers are or have been faculty at local academic institutions who themselves have contributed to the body of literature we use to help our patients. It’s through this lens that I and others in our practice view the work that we do, which helps our patients feel better and improve their ability to function.

Schedule an appointment with Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates today to begin your journey to better mental health.

Contact