“Psychology as a Health Care Profession:” How Healthy Was APA's Case for the Cost-Effectiveness of Psychological Health Care?

Abstract

The American Psychological Association's “Psychology as a Health Care Profession” (1979) contains a review of several studies on the cost-effectiveness of psychotherapy. As we document, that review does not consider viable alternative interpretations or qualify findings in line with the studies' substantial limitations, e.g., their lack of controls for regression or selection biases. Following our critique, we suggest that in light of the financial contingencies surrounding conclusions about the effectiveness of psychotherapy, special care must be taken to ensure that psychology's public stance on the value of psychotherapy contains the qualifications suggested by the scientific evidence. Public statements by the American Psychological Association on the issue of the effectiveness of psychotherapy might be based on a review of the scientific merits of pertinent studies by an independent body of research methodologists.