Abstract

MUSTACA, ALBA ELISABETH. Objective Evaluation of Psychological Treatments: Science-Based Models. Rev. colomb. psicol. [online]. 2011, vol.20, n.1, pp.99-106. ISSN 0121-5469.

The last few years have seen an increase in clinical research that uses the scientific method for its validation, mainly due to the influence of the empirically supported treatments (ESTs) movement that started in the 1990s. The article describes the background, objectives, and results of ESTs, as well as two intervention models that complement them: one that promotes research on the type of therapeutic relation that guarantees greater success of the therapies, and one that seeks to optimize mental health care systems. The conclusion is that most ESTs are techniques based on experimental psychology, and that the scientific method is the best tool available to address the complex problem of human behavior.

Keywords : scientific method; experimental psychology; therapeutic relation; empirically supported treatments (ESTs).

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