Learn More About the Common Factors
The Great Psychotherapy Debate:
The Evidence for What Makes Psychotherapy Work
This book answers the debate about which therapy model is the most effective through a rigorous meta-analytic examination of hundreds of psychotherapy outcome studies. It turns out there is relative equivalency in effectiveness - which underscores the vital role of the common factors.
Site References
Asay, T. R., & Lambert, M. J. (1999). The empirical case of the common factors in psychotherapy: quantitative findings. In M. A. Hubble, B. L. Duncan, & S. D. Miller (Eds.), The heart and soul of change: what works in therapy (pp. 23-55). Washington DC: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/11132-001
Barkham, M., Lutz, W., Lambert, M. J., & Saxon, D. (2017). Therapist effects, effective therapists, and the law of variability. In L. G. Castonguay & C. E. Hill (Eds.), How and why are some therapists better than others?: Understanding therapist effects (pp. 13-36). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0000034-002
Behan, D. (2018). Demoralization during medical illness: a case of common factors treatment. Clinical Social Work Journal (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-018-0660-y
Behan, D. (2022). Do clients train therapists to become eclectic and use the common factors? A qualitative study listening to experienced psychotherapists. BMC psychology, 10(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00886-6
Benish, S. G., Quintana, S., & Wampold, B. E. (2011). Culturally adapted psychotherapy and the legitimacy of myth: A direct-comparison meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(3), 279-289. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0023626
Bohart, A. C., & Tallman, K. (2010). Clients: The neglected common factor in psychotherapy. The heart and soul of change: Delivering what works in therapy, 2, 83-111.
Bohart. A. C., & Wade, A. G. (2013). The Client in Psychotherapy. In M. J. Lambert (Ed.), Bergin and Garfield’s Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change (6th ed., pp. 219-257). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Brody, H., & Miller, F. G. (2011). Lessons from recent research about the placebo effect—from art to science. Jama, 306(23), 2612-2613.306(23):2612-2613. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1850
Castonguay, L. G., Constantino, M. J., & Holtforth, M. G. (2006). The working alliance: Where are we and where should we go? Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(3), 271-279.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.43.3.271
Constantino, M. J., Vîslă, A., Coyne, A. E., & Boswell, J. F. (2018). A meta-analysis of the association between patients’ early treatment outcome expectation and their posttreatment outcomes. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 473. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000169
Constantino, M. J., Coyne, A. E., Boswell, J. F., Iles, B. R., & Vîslă, A. (2018). A meta-analysis of the association between patients’ early perception of treatment credibility and their posttreatment outcomes. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000168
Duncan, B. L., Miller, S. D., Wampold, B. E., & Hubble, M. A. (Eds.). (2010). The heart and soul of change: Delivering what works in therapy (2nd ed.). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/12075-000
Duncan, B. L., & Reese, R. J. (2015). The Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS) revisiting the client’s frame of reference. Psychotherapy, 52(4), 391-401. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000026
Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., & Horvath, A. O. (2018). The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 316-340. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000172
Frank, J.D. & Frank, J.B. (1993) Persuasion and Healing: A Comparative Study of Psychotherapy. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.
Gaynor, S. T., Weersing, V. R., Kolko, D. J., Birmaher, B., Heo, J., & Brent, D. A. (2003). The prevalence and impact of large sudden improvements during adolescent therapy for depression: A comparison across cognitive-behavioral, family, and supportive therapy. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 71(2), 386. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.71.2.386
Horvath, A. O., Del Re, A. C., Flückiger, C., & Symonds, D. (2011). Alliance in individual psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 48(1), 9-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0022186
Ilardi, S. S., & Craighead, W. E. (1994). The role of nonspecific factors in cognitive-behavior therapy for depression. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 1(2), 138-156. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.1994.tb00016.x
Lambert, M. J. (1992). Psychotherapy outcome research: Implications for integrative and eclectical therapists. In J. C. Norcross & M. R. Goldfried (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy integration (pp. 94-129). New York, NY, US: Basic Books.
Lambert, M. J., & Kleinstäuber, M. (2016). When people change, and its relation to specific therapy techniques and common factors. Verhaltenstherapie, 26(1), 32-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000442372
Lambert, M. J., Whipple, J. L., & Kleinstäuber, M. (2018). Collecting and delivering progress feedback: A meta-analysis of routine outcome monitoring. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 520-537. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000167
Lambert, Michael J., Sol Louis Garfield, and Allen E. Bergin. (2004) Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Lambert, M. J. (Ed.). (2013). Bergin and Garfield's handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (p. 864). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Norcross, J. C. (2010). The therapeutic relationship. In B. L. Duncan, S. D. Miller, B. E. Wampold, & M. A. Hubble (Eds.), The heart and soul of change: Delivering what works in therapy (pp. 113-141). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/12075-004
Norcross, J. C., & Lambert, M. J. (2018). Psychotherapy relationships that work III. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 303-315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pst0000193
Norcross, J. C., & Wampold, B. E. (2018). A new therapy for each patient: Evidence‐based relationships and responsiveness. Journal of clinical psychology, 74(11), 1889-1906. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22678
Orlinsky, D. E., Ronnestad, M. H., & Willutzki, U. (2004). Fifty years of psychotherapy process-outcome research: Continuity and change. Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change, 5, 307-389. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-69499-2_57
Owen, J., & Hilsenroth, M. J. (2014). Treatment adherence: The importance of therapist flexibility in relation to therapy outcomes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61(2), 280-288.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0035753
Safran, J., Muran, C. & Proskurov, B. (2009) Alliance, negotiation, and rupture resolution. In Levy, R. A., & Ablon, J. S. (Eds.), Handbook of evidence-based psychodynamic psychotherapy: Bridging the gap between science and practice. Totowa, NJ, US: Humana Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-444-5
Stiles, W. B. (2009). Responsiveness as an obstacle for psychotherapy outcome research: It's worse than you think. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 16(1), 86-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2009.01148.x
Sue, D. W. (2016). Race talk and the conspiracy of silence: Understanding and facilitating difficult dialogues on race. John Wiley & Sons.
Swift, J. K., & Derthick, A. O. (2013). Increasing hope by addressing clients’ outcome expectations. Psychotherapy, 50(3), 284. DOI: 10.1037/a0031941
Tambling, R. B. (2012). A literature review of therapeutic expectancy effects. Contemporary Family Therapy, 34(3), 402-415. https://rdcu.be/bwoZZ
Vasquez, M. J. (2007). Cultural difference and the therapeutic alliance: An evidence-based analysis. American Psychologist, 62(8), 878. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.8.878
Wampold, B. E. (2015). How important are the common factors in psychotherapy? An update. World Psychiatry, 14(3), 270-277. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20238
Wampold, B. E., Baldwin, S. A., Holtforth, M. g., & Imel, Z. E. (2017). What characterizes effective therapists? In L. G. Castonguay & C. E. Hill (Eds.), How and why are some therapists better than others?: Understanding therapist effects (pp. 37-53). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0000034-003
Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Whipple, J. L., Lambert, M. J., Vermeersch, D. A., Smart, D. W., Nielsen, S. L., & Hawkins, E. J. (2003). Improving the effects of psychotherapy: The use of early identification of treatment and problem-solving strategies in routine practice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(1), 59-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.50.1.59