Are samples in randomized controlled trials of psychotherapy representative of community outpatients? A new methodology and initial findings.
To determine the extent to which published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of psychotherapy can be generalized to a sample of community outpatients, the authors used a method of matching information obtained from outpatient charts to inclusion and exclusion criteria from published RCT studies. They found that 80% of the patients in their sample who had diagnoses represented in the RCT literature were judged eligible for at least 1 published RCT; however, 58% of the patients had primary diagnoses such as adjustment disorder or dysthymia, which were not represented in the existing psychotherapy outcome literature. The most common reasons that patients in their sample did not match with published RCTs for psychotherapy are listed, and the implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.
Stirman
Shannon Wiltsey
SW
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104-6193, USA.
DeRubeis
Robert J
RJ
Crits-Christoph
Paul
P
Brody
Pamela E
PE
D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009515:New Jersey; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018579:Patient Selection; D011613:Psychotherapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015983:Selection Bias