Seminar - Evidence-based Psychotherapy (2016-2024)

The first part of the seminar deals with outcome research. I will introduce user-friendly techniques for evaluating meta-analyses. Based on this, we will work on relevant meta-analyses in psychotherapy research and translate medium effect sizes (e.g., d = 0.5) into practical metrics that are understandable in practice (e.g., 2/3 significantly improve through psychotherapy). We will then relate these findings to the effects of other interventions such as medication or physical activity.

In the second part, we will focus on process-outcome research. It addresses the central question of which factors positively influence the course of psychotherapy. Using the example of the “Searching for Super-Shrink” studies, we will concretize concepts such as “therapeutic relationship” and “interpersonal skills” so that participants are enabled to assess which levers in psychotherapy are truly evidence-based. Overall, I aim to strengthen the methodological competence of aspiring psychotherapists and encourage them to delve more into primary literature.