In Evidence: Measurement-based Care Can Guide Clinical Practice in Psychoanalysis

In this article for The American Psychoanalyst, Accreditation Manager Steven Ackerman, PhD, and Director of Research Katie Lewis, PhD, talk about measurement-based care in the treatment of patients in a psychoanalytic residential treatment setting.

"How do we know when psychoanalysis works? While outcome assessment is common practice in the fields of medicine and mental health, some psychoanalysts have disputed its relevance, role, and purpose, deeming it overly simplistic, beside the point, or even dehumanizing to patients. In contrast, those involved in psychoanalytic research have long pointed out the necessity of evidence-based practices if psychoanalytic treatments are to be widely understood, appreciated, and applied. And in fact, since the late 1960s, over 300 randomized control trials have been published that demonstrate psychoanalytic treatments’ superiority over inactive control groups and noninferiority to other forms of evidence-based treatment (see Review of Research below)."

Read In Evidence: Measurement-based Care Can Guide Clinical Practice in Psychoanalysis.