The Therapist's Role in Effective Marriage and Family Therapy Practice: The Case for Evidence Based Therapists.
In this paper we argue that the therapist is a crucial change variable in psychotherapy as a whole and in couple, marital, and family therapy specifically. Therapists who work with complex systems require more skills to negotiate demanding therapy contexts. Yet, little is known about what differentiates effective couple, marital, and family therapists from those who are less effective, what innate therapy skills they possess, how they learn, and how they operationalize their knowledge in the therapy room. We discuss the need to emphasize evidence based therapists (as opposed to therapies), and implications of the importance of the role therapists for training, practice, research priorities, and policy.
Couple and Family Therapy Program, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, 3B Human Ecology, 552 W Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA. blowa@msu.edu.
Adrian J
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9853-661X
AJ
Blow
Marriage and Family Therapy Program, The Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA.
Eli A
EA
Karam
D002983:Clinical Competence; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D008388:Marital Therapy / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D024382:Professional Role; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care
Couple, marital, and family therapist; Evidence based therapists; Therapist