“Evidence-Based Therapy”: What Does It Really Mean?

Often, we encounter the term “evidence-based therapy” from websites offering mental health care services. But, what does this term mean?

“Evidence-based” is evidence for whether a therapy works, not how. Currently, a lot of therapy providers describe themselves as “evidence-based.” One of the most popular schools of psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), is often advertised in these terms.

As described by Sahanika Ratnayake, Ph.D.,“The evidence we have for therapies tells us something about whether therapies work (and even then, this evidence is complicated) but very little about how or why they work.”

There is no exact knowledge of how treatments work, but it is not inherently a bad thing. When there’s an issue, it makes sense to focus on finding a dependable solution first, then delve into the hows later. However, therapy differs from other areas of medicine in that the ‘how’ question is much more significant.

For example, CBT claims that mental illness is related to problems with reasoning and suggests that it can fix those errors. Because of this, it affects how individuals think about themselves and their mental health. This story should be taken seriously, especially when the people putting it forward are experts who describe their therapy as evidence-based.

These theories about mental health have a huge impact on how people understand themselves. As such, clients and providers of mental health services in Hendersonville, North Carolina, should be clear on what “evidence-based” means when talking about therapy.

DC Wellness Mental and Behavioral Health Services is a provider of behavioral health services in North Carolina that offers a confidential, comprehensive assessment to be responsive and sensitive to the individual needs of each client.

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