Is psychotherapy effective? Discuss the research that evaluates different methods of psychotherapy ...

ANSWER:
There is considerable disagreement about the effectiveness of psychotherapy. The question is particularly difficult to answer because of the large variety of clients, disorders, therapies, and therapists. Many studies have produced results that can yield conflicting interpretations. The consensus is that there is evidence that some therapies do seem to work for some clients with some disorders when administered by some types of therapists, but there is no clear-cut way to determine the best approach for a given person with particular symptoms. The results of meta-analyses of effectiveness studies indicate that even when statistically significant differences in therapeutic effectiveness are found, they may not be associated with clinical effectiveness (i.e., the client improves noticeably and feels better).