Therapy: art or science?
"Good therapists," reports The New York Times today, "usually work to resolve conflicts, not inflame them. But there is a civil war going on in psychology, and not everyone is in the mood for healing. [Sorry, registration required.]"On one side are experts who argue that what therapists do in their consulting rooms should be backed by scientific studies proving its worth.
"On the other are those who say that the push for this evidence threatens the very things that make psychotherapy work in the first place."
The Times suggests that the debate may shape how future therapists are trained, and it would be interesting to see how many pastoral counseling programs--given the dominance of psychodynamic psychology in pastoral counseling--are engaging the debate in the classroom and in curricular decisions.
At any rate, the piece is a good summary of the "art vs. science" argument in the American Psychological Association.
I wonder, though, how helpful it is to take such a dualistic view; good therapy, it seems to me, is both art and science, not either/or.
And for pastoral counselors, the healing that comes through psychotherapy--and the skills that make for a good therapist--are a charism of the church, gifts from God that can be strengthened by the social sciences and research outcomes, but certainly not replaced by them.
.: Posted by Duane Bidwell on Tuesday, August 10, 2004
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