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As with all health care professionals, psychologists are dedicated to offering the best level of care available by constantly evaluating and comparing the effects of various treatments
for a variety of child and adolescent mental health problems. In other words, psychologists wish to discover which treatment is likely to work best for each individual.
While there are many definitions one could use to categorize the level of research support for a psychological treatment, one of the most commonly used
systems-and the one utilized by this website- relies on criteria outlined by Chambless et al. (1998). To summarize, any given psychological treatment can be grouped as follows:
Criterion #1: Well-Established Treatments
"Well-Established Treatments" are considered to meet the guidelines for the "strongest" research support to date.
In order to meet this high standard these treatments must satisfy a number of stringent criteria.
Above all, there must be at least two large-scale randomized controlled trails (RCTs)
which have demonstrated the superior efficacy of the treatment to pill, another treatment, psychological placebo, or at least equivalent efficacy to another, already established treatment. Further, these experiments must have been conducted by independent investigatory teams working at different research settings.
Criterion #2: Probably Efficacious
A treatment is labeled "Probably Efficacious" if current research support is "modest." Although for a treatment to qualify for this designation there must be at least two adequately designed studies supporting its efficacy, these treatments either have not yet been investigated using a rigorously designed RCT or, if such evidence exists, these results have not yet been replicated across independent research settings and investigators.
Criterion #3: Possibly Efficacious
The designation of "Possibly Efficacious" is given to a treatment that could be considered promising but for which there is limited research evidence to date. These treatments are supported by at least one "good" study showing the treatment to be efficacious and there must be an absence of conflicting evidence.
Criterion #4: Experimental
The category of "Experimental" refers to treatments that have not yet been tested in any "good" or well-designed research trial. These treatments should likely be avoided until further evidence is available.
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