ABSTRACT
The paper aims to develop a critical sociocultural understanding on the epistemological and historical analysis of evidence-based (EB) paradigm in contemporary psychological knowledge-production (research) and knowledge-application (practice). It firstly retraces the emergence of EB in medical disciplines, its paradigmatic status, and its subsequent adoption by mainstream psychological sciences. The description of EB historical roots and key concepts leads to the second part, where the paper reflects on key epistemological criticalities scholars have raised toward the EB paradigm. Then, we develop our sociocultural perspective to enrich the epistemological analysis and critique of EB. Specifically, we propose a hermeneutic and interpretative understanding which frames EB as a re-enactment of the positivist scientific research ambition to reach for a complete formalization of biological/psychological phenomena (endo-genetical dynamics), and of new socioeconomic, political, and individual needs posed by contemporary Western societal institutions to scientific knowledge (exo-genetical dynamics). Furthermore, building on such understanding, we suggest that EB works as a contemporary epistemic indicator and threshold, serving two functions: selective filtering and exclusion. Finally, we speculate that EB endo-genetical and exo-genetical developmental dynamics can be interpreted as an expression of the contemporary presentist regime of temporality and as a shift towards the regime of performative techniques instead of context-specific and future-oriented relational competences, also tracing a determining factor that has directed, directs and will continue to direct scientific research in psychology.
Subject(s)
Knowledge , Psychology , HumansABSTRACT
Resumen La Práctica Basada en Evidencia (PBE) es un proceso que inicia con el conocimiento de las evidencias disponibles y concluye con la selección de la mejor intervención para su implementación en escenarios clínicos lo cual impacta la efectividad de las intervenciones. Objetivo. Caracterizar el perfil de los terapeutas que laboran en 17 centros de tratamiento ambulatorio en adicciones del noroeste de México, además de sus conocimientos y habilidades en el uso de la PBE (fuentes de consulta, uso de manuales) y percepción de su autoeficacia. Método. Participaron 102 terapeutas, se contemplaron dos etapas: cuantitativa basada en la aplicación del CUTEA y cualitativa con aplicación de entrevista semi-estructurada, buscando contrastar las respuestas. Resultados. La mayoría de los participantes tuvo dificultad para describir el concepto de PBE, solo el 37.25% logró una adecuada definición sin embargo, reportaron altos niveles (95.91%) de autoeficacia para implementarla. En relación a las fuentes de consulta el 50% reportó utilizar cualquier buscador comercial en internet, mientras que el 46.08% referían usar los manuales de la institución. Al ingreso a su trabajo, no contaban con capacitación en adicciones ni en el área clínica. Discusión. Se aborda la necesidad del entrenamiento en la PBE y no solo en la implementación de tratamientos específicos.
Abstract Introduction. Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is a process which starts with the knowledge of available evidence and concludes with the evaluation and selection of the best intervention for the implementation in clinical settings, this process impact the efficacy of the interventions. The variables which can impact on the EBP could be: personal and institutional variables and therapist skills and variables of the interventions. However, to make decisions in the clinical context, it has prevailed a position based on the risks and needs of the clients, which would justify using any treatment, regardless of its effectiveness, which makes the professional psychologist a passive subject who is dedicated only to implementing interventions that institutions request. Therefore, EBP demands that the psychologist be critical of the research and this allows the identification of the best evidence available and also must have the skills to adapt that evidence to their particular context. The objective is to characterize the profile of therapists working in 17 outpatient treatment centers in Mexico, as well as the skills related to the use of EBP (sources of consultation and use of manuals, transfer of knowledge to the population and other therapists) and perception of their self-efficacy. Method. This is a cross-sectional research in which 102 therapists participated. Two stages were considered: quantitative, based on the application of a questionnaire, and the second was qualitative, seeking to contrast the responses. Results. Most of the participants had difficulties in explaining EBP, but reported high levels of self-efficacy to implement it. At the beginning of their work, they had no training in addictions or in the clinical area. Discussion. The need for training in EBP from undergraduate studies is addressed so that future therapists will find it more natural to implement it in clinical settings, through the analysis of scientific articles and, if possible, its application.
ABSTRACT
Over the past three decades, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has moved from an almost untreatable, life-long psychiatric disorder to a highly manageable one. This is a very welcome change to the 1%-3% of children and adults with this disorder as, thanks to advances in both pharmacological and psychological therapies, prognosis for those afflicted with OCD is quite good in the long term, even though most have comorbid disorders that are also problematic. We still have far to go, however, until OCD can be described as either easily treatable or the effective treatments are widely known about among clinicians. This review focuses on the current state of the art in treatment for OCD and where we still are coming up short in our work as a scientific community. For example, while the impact of medications is quite strong for adults in reducing OCD symptoms, current drugs are only somewhat effective for children. In addition, there are unacceptably high relapse rates across both populations when treated with pharmacological alone. Even in the cognitive-behavioral treatments, which show higher effect sizes and lower relapse rates than drug therapies, drop-out rates are at a quarter of those who begin treatment. This means a sizable portion of the OCD population who do obtain effective treatments (which appears to be only a portion of the overall population) are not effectively treated. Suggestions for future avenues of research are also presented. These are primarily focused on (1) increased dissemination of effective therapies; (2) augmentation of treatments for those with residual symptoms, both for psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy; and (3) the impact of comorbid disorders on treatment outcome.
