Evidence-Based Practice in the Treatment of OCD

Abstract

Kazdin (2007) and Barlow (2007) elucidated the components of evidence-based practice and affirmed the Story of Hope (Clement, 2007) as an illustration of how such practice can be accomplished within a full-time private practice. These three psychologists agreed on a number of points. Evidence-based practice includes (a) systematic evaluation of individual patients with repeated administration of brief, objective measures before, during, and following treatment, (b) accurate diagnosis in order to select the most appropriate treatment(s) for the patient in question, (c) whenever possible using an empirically supported treatment (EST), (d) relating research findings to clinical practice and outcomes from psychotherapy back to research, (e) adapting treatment components to the particular patient and their specific circumstances, (f) continually analyzing progress, and (g) accumulating treatment outcomes across cases into a database. Finally, regarding the case of Hope herself, although there had been a drop in her level of functioning at a 21-month, post-treatment follow-up, Hope’s treatment effect size was still very large (2.57).