Standards for Self-Help Recommendations

We are increasingly focused on the evidence base for therapeutic treatments and interventions, as well as the translation of that evidence into practice. Brandon A. Gaudiano and Lily A. Brown note in Back to Life, Back to Normality: Cognitive Therapy, Recovery, and Psychosis that "often, it is assumed that because a book is based on an evidence-based psychotherapy, it is acceptable to present the same principles in a self-help format as they are thought to be safe and effective, even if a bit watered down (Redding, Herbert, Forman, & Gaudiano, 2008)."

In an environment that increasingly requests the evidence base for therapies and interventions, what is required to proceed with self-help recommendations? Do psychology and other mental health professions have a responsibility to develop an evidence base that addresses self-help recommendations, or are these reasonable dissemination efforts based on general therapeutic knowledge?

Read the Review

Self-Administered Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis: Untapped Potential or Premature Promotion?
      By Brandon A. Gaudiano [and] Lily A. Brown
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(41)