Prospects for Future Comparisons Between Drugs and Psychotherapy: Lessons From the CBT-Versus-Pharmacotherapy Exchange

• Published in: Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 1996-02, Vol.64 (1), p.104-108
• Main Authors: Jacobson, Neil S, Hollon, Steven D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior Modification; Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy; Bias; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical Trials as Topic; Cognitive Behavior Therapy; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Cognitive behaviour therapy; Cognitive Restructuring; Cognitive Therapy; Comparison; Depression; Depression (Psychology); Depressive Disorder - therapy; Drug Therapy; Drugs; Emotional Disturbances; Experimental Methods; Human; Humans; Information Systems; Intervention; Major Depression; Medical sciences; Mental depression; National Institute of Mental Health; Outpatient Care; Panic Disorder; Panic Disorder - therapy; Personality Problems; Pharmacology; Pharmacotherapy; Placebo; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychotherapy; Psychotropic Drugs - therapeutic use; Therapy; Treatment; Treatment Effectiveness Evaluation; Treatment Outcome; Treatments
• ISSN: 0022-006X; 1939-2117
• DOI: 10.1037/0022-006X.64.1.104

In these concluding comments to the exchange among N. S. Jacobson and S. D. Hollon (1996) , D. F. Klein (1996) , I. Elkin, R. D. Gibbons, M. T. Shea, and B. F. Shaw (1996) , and R. J. McNally (1996) issues of continuing controversy are highlighted: the best ways to control for the allegiance effect, the complexities of assessing competence, and the role of pill placebos in comparisons between cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy. It is concluded that controlling for allegiance within site is the optimal strategy, that measures of competence must take context into account, and that pill placebo controls are optimal but not essential to comparisons between CBT and pharmacotherapy.