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© 2019. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es_ES (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Este trabajo pretende conocer el impacto que los tratamientos basados en la evidencia (TBE) ejercen sobre la psicología aplicada, así como los factores que podrían estar relacionados con dicho impacto. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 242 psicólogos formados en España, a los que se les administró un cuestionario ad hoc constituido por preguntas que recogían información acerca de determinadas variables sociodemográficas y sobre el uso o conocimiento de los TBE para los trastornos mentales en población adulta. Los resultados señalan que, a excepción de las terapias cognitivo-conductuales, el impacto de los tratamientos basados en la evidencia es limitado, pudiendo influir en dicho impacto el tipo de acreditación profesional y los años de experiencia clínica. Los hallazgos de este estudio apoyan la idea de que los resultados de la investigación no se implementan ni consolidan del todo en los ámbitos aplicados.

Alternate abstract:

This paper aims to know the impact of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) on applied psychology, as well as the factors that could be related to this impact. The sample consisted of 242 psychologists trained in Spain, who were administered an ad hoc questionnaire consisting of questions that gathered information about certain sociodemographic variables and about the use or knowledge of EBTs for mental disorders in adults. The results indicate that, with the exception of cognitive-behavioral therapies, the impact of EBTs is limited, and the professional accreditation and the years of clinical experience may influence this impact. The findings of this study support the idea that the results of the research are not fully consolidated in applied areas.

Alternate abstract:

Plain Language Summary

The scientific assessment of the efficacy of psychological treatments has become a major concern in clinical psychology in recent years due to several reasons, including the fact that psychological interventions are provided by public healthcare systems (Echeburúa, Corral, & Salaberría, 2010). Besides, scientific advance in Psychology requires the determination of which therapies are effective. However, several authors have set out that scientific outcomes stemming from research might not be extrapolable to clinical practice (Barlow, Bullis, Comer, & Ametaj, 2013; Kazdin, 2018). Consequently, patients might not be receiving evidence-based treatments (EBTs), thus they would not benefit from the knowledge generated by decades of research (Tasca et al., 2015), which may engender deleterious effects upon their wellbeing and recovery (Constantino, Coyne, & Gomez Penedo, 2017).

Several reasons have been provided in order to explain the gap between research and clinical practice (e.g., the samples of patients used in the RCTs do not represent patients in clinical contexts, lack of equivalence between the clinical context, and the research-controlled conditions). Furthermore, research outcomes are mostly disseminated in scientific journals, meaning that results may not reach applied professionals (Echeburúa et al., 2010). Therefore, clinical decisions are made based on their professional experience (Gyani, Sharan, Myles, & Rose 2014; Safran et al., 2011; Stewart & Chambless, 2007; Stewart, Chambless, & Stirman, 2018; Stewart et al., 2012). Likewise, prior studies have revealed that personal factors such as age, therapeutic orientation, education level, years of experience, and professional context, impact on the use of EBTs.

The aim of this paper is to determine the knowledge and use of EBTs for mental disorders in adults among psychologists trained in Spain. In addition, we aim to analyze if there is any association between personal variables and the use of scientific evidence in clinical practice.

Method

Participants. The sample was composed of 242 psychologists, both graduates and undergraduates from Spanish universities (64% females and 36% males), aged 39.14 (SD = 10.52).

Materials. An ad hoc instrument was designed. It consisted of two sections: a) sociodemographic variables (age, sex, education, end-of-studies date, professional accreditation, years of experience, professional context, and theoretical orientation) and b) self-report regarding the use and/or knowledge of EBTs for 12 mental disorders in adults (97 EBTs gathered in Moriana, Gálvez-Lara, & Corpas, 2017). Scores ranged between 0 and 97.

Procedure. Professional and scientific associations were contacted by email and by phone. Those who accepted to participate were provided with a link to our questionnaire in Google Forms to be distributed among all their users.

Results

The final sample was composed of 239 participants who used/knew an average of 42.92 therapies (SD = 18.26). No significant correlation was found between age and use/knowledge of EBTs (r = .063, p > .05), neither regarding theoretical orientation. ANOVAs revealed that professional accreditation and counting on years of experience were statistically associated with the use and knowledge of EBTs.

Discussion

This study aimed to assess the impact of EBTs on clinical practice. Main results showed a limited impact of evidence-based psychological interventions on clinical practice. It is noteworthy that, despite the evidence supporting several therapies included in the questionnaire, they remained unknown to most participants (e.g., Seeking Safety Therapy for PTSD (62.8%), Competitive Memory training for depression (75.7%), Reminiscence Therapy for depression (65.3%). These findings suggest the exiguous success on the dissemination of the above-mentioned treatments. Quite the opposite is the case of Mindfulness, as regardless of the lack of consensus concerning its efficacy (Moriana et al., 2017) it was well known among participants. Results showed that only professional accreditation and years of clinical experience were associated with a greater knowledge and use of EBTs.

These findings suggest that research may not be in line with clinical practice. As Kazdin (2008) suggests, many of the TBEs have a very low real applicability, so it would be convenient to adapt the interventions to real situations of application to improve the dissemination of these treatments among applied psychologists. Another proposal to facilitate the dissemination of treatments may be promoting transdiagnostic treatments focused on a set of shared therapeutic principles (Barlow, Allen, & Choate, 2004).

Details

Title
El Conocimiento y el Uso en la Práctica Clínica de los Tratamientos Psicológicos Basados en la Evidencia
Author
Gálvez-Lara, Mario; Corpas, Jorge; Velasco, Judith; Moriana, Juan A
Pages
115-122
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones
ISSN
11305274
e-ISSN
21740550
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
Spanish
ProQuest document ID
2477575531
Copyright
© 2019. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es_ES (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.