Supershrinks

What this video is about

This video reviews the state of research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy. It explains that the main approaches (cognitive behavioural, psychoanalytic, humanistic and systemic) have been shown to be effective, but that meta-analyses find no significant differences in effectiveness between them, an idea known as the Dodo bird verdict. At the same time, these studies show that the results of all approaches leave considerable room for improvement and that, over some forty years of research, they have barely increased.

This brings back the idea of common factors: elements shared by the different psychotherapies that explain much of their effectiveness, such as a trusting relationship between patient and therapist, a plausible explanation of the problem, a treatment plan consistent with it and agreement on goals and methods.

From there, the video focuses on the figure of the therapist, the so-called “T factor”, and on supershrinks or super-therapists: professionals who achieve results far above average regardless of the model they use. It notes that most psychotherapists believe they are more effective than average, which is statistically impossible, and cites studies showing large differences in effectiveness between therapists. The underlying idea is that, if the characteristics of the most effective clinicians can be identified, they can be learnt and taught.

Topics: psychotherapy effectiveness, common factors, supershrinks, the therapist as a factor of change, psychotherapy research