AUTHOR=Berg Henrik 

TITLE=Why Only Efficiency, and Not Efficacy, Matters in Psychotherapy Practice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.603211

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.603211

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Evidence-based practice in psychology consists of two quality parameters. One of these parameters is efficacy and the other is efficiency. In this paper, it is argued that the only relevant parameter for determining quality in clinical care is efficiency. It is argued that emphasising efficacy in psychotherapy practice is symptomatic of a scientocentric ideal in evidence-based practice in psychology. The proper understanding and use of scientific findings depend on leaving this scientocentric ideal. Crucially, efficiency must be related to the ethical aims integrated in a practice like psychotherapy.