What Works in Psychotherapy

"Our diversity as a profession... is not a weakness that needs to be cured with evidence-based practice. It's a strength and it needs to be nurtured with outcome-informed measures." - Scott Miller, PhD

Miller suggests that to begin with, it's the therapeutic alliance that's one of the most important elements. And here's the real ticker—Miller has found that the therapist is the determining factor, not the treatment model. This means that therapists can learn, grow and be more effective with their clients by systematically monitoring therapy outcomes, inviting negative feedback, and asking the simple question that so often seems too difficult for therapists to ask: "How is this working for you?"

Miller warns against manualized systems that require therapists to narrowly work in a particular model, citing research that shows that therapists are the most effective when they are allowed to practice what they believe and are confident in. This means you don't need to change your modality to be more effective, and, in fact, can have a meaningful evidence-based practice by adapting some of Miller's simple tools to invite client feedback.