title: Promoting an empiricist agenda within the human services: an ethical and humanistic imperative.
abstract: Various meta-contingencies inadvertently promote the perpetuation of bogus psychotherapies and other human service interventions. This article outlines some of these perverse incentives and describes counter-controls which could be adopted by the various professional associations, state licensing boards, accreditation bodies, and service providers. These counter-controls have the potential to move human services in the direction of becoming a truly empirical clinical science. This would directly enhance the ethical appropriateness and humanistic goals of the human service professions.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, USA.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Thyer
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000193:education / Q000639:trends*; D003479:Curriculum / Q000639:trends; D004995:Ethics, Professional; D006040:Goals; D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000639:trends; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000639:trends*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000193:education / Q000639:trends*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States