Good Responses Essay Example

REPONSES

Response to Shannon
Shannon opines that the big question is whether psychotherapy is an effective way of treating various conditions. I agree with Shannon on this since, in the article, Todd J. and Bohart (2006) notes that psychotherapy is effective for depression, marital problems, anxiety, and others. However, one would wonder to what extend is the effective of the psychotherapy. In as much as it can be effective, the level of effectiveness may be doubted in the face of difference in personal attributes, conditions, and situations that the patients face. It is; therefore, true that as Shannon notes that how much psychotherapy one receives determines the effectiveness. What is the best research method to determine the effectiveness of psychotherapy? How can the placebo effect affect the outcome of such research designs?
I agree with Shannon on how to monitor progress while restrict on the effects of psychotherapy. There are many ways such as self-rating, administration of questionnaires, symptom checks, etc. Although all these may increase the effectiveness of research, one wonders whether it is practical to combines all the methods on one research.

Reference

Todd, J., & Bohart, A. C. (2006). Foundations of clinical and counseling psychology (Fourth ed.). Lon Grove: Waveland Press, Inc
Response to Kelly
I concur with Kelly that the main problems in the study of the effectiveness of psychotherapy is in how to measure the results of the psychotherapy. Change in behavior may have other causes other than psychotherapy creating uncertainty in the results. It is, therefore, difficult even to measure the overall effectiveness. The subjectivity of the researcher’s theoretical approach is a compromise the results. It is also difficult to follow up the people as they can move or there are other changes that may affect the whole measurement process. On the improvement of reliability, individualized scales might help to some extent. However, one would wonders how a person under treatment can self-administer self-evaluation and fill it in the scale. The person may be affected by many other symptoms that are not related to the psychotherapy. Ang Wee Kiat A. (n.d) opines that psychotherapy involves personal growth and maturation. How can one determine such growth and maturation, and how long can psychotherapy be used?
References
Todd, J., & Bohart, A. C. (2006). Foundations of clinical and counseling psychology (Fourth ed.). Lon Grove: Waveland Press, Inc
Ang Wee Kiat A. (n.d). Psychotherapy. Retrieved on February 19, 2015 from <http://www.med.nus.edu.sg/pcm/book/39.pdf>