How Can Therapeutic Effectiveness Be Improved?

At a time when psychotherapists are increasingly required to demonstrate their effectiveness, and even more, their cost-effectiveness, the problem of therapeutic effectiveness takes on greater importance. In a culture focused on effectiveness, efficiency and profitability, psychotherapists, managers and often patients ask themselves various questions, including: which treat-ment is most effective and least costly for dealing with a given problem? Faced with these facts, the Ordre des psychologues du Québec, like the American and Canadian psychological associations, advocates practice based on the integration of research and prac-titioners ’ clinical expertise, while taking account of individual clients’ characteristics and preferences (Lambert & Ogles, 2004). This raises other questions, like: which scientific data can the clinician rely on, to what extent are empirically-supported treatments generalizabl