This volume disproves the belief that certain psychotherapies are more effective in treating certain psychological problems than other therapies.
Wampold's distillation here of the enormous literature in psychotherapy research is impressive....Using a balanced and carefully selected set of studies, he documents his conclusions and examines the implications of accepting the contextual model--all without showing any bias against psychotherapy.
—READINGS: A Journal of Reviews and Commentary in Mental Health
Wampold has done the profession a major service with the publication of this book. I believe that it is a classic....The net result of this work is that it gives psychotherapists a hook, something upon which to hang their hats, in that it refines and defines the path of psychotherapy research and practice for the next generation. His review of research, and his fearless confronting of some of the most controversial issues in the field, make this a book that can serve as a guideline for psychotherapy, both as a science and as an art. Usually one does not succeed with the triumph of the other but, in this case, we have a vision of how they merge.
—Contemporary Psychology
This is a fascinating book that is well-reasoned, thoroughly documented, and clearly written. The logic of the author's presentation is persuasive without being adversarial. The thesis is one that will challenge many in the psychological establishment. I will most certainly adopt this book for use in my own graduate training program in counseling psychology, and I will recommend it to others. I think the book is suitable for use in both introductory and advanced courses in psychology and counseling theory.
—James Lichtenberg,Ph.D.
University of Kansas
I am not engaging in hyperbole when I say that it is the best scientific analysis of psychotherapy ever written. It is certain to have a sensational impact on the psychological community, and in particular, those scientists who are concerned with teasing out the mechanisms of therapeutic change.
—Charles Claiborn, Ph.D.
Arizona State University
The Great Psychotherapy Debate does not break new ground; instead, it plows it like it has never been plowed before. With scrupulous care and unquestioned fairness, Bruce Wampold has assumed the mantle of foremost proponent of the 'general factors' explanation for psychotherapy efficacy. This work will reverberate far beyond the narrow confines of the seminar room. It touches the most important policy questions that will be faced by the clinical uses of psychology in the next decade.
—Gene V. Glass
Arizona State University
I believe this book is destined to become a classic in the psychotherapy literature because it offers a logical theory to explain decades of perplexing empirical findings on psychotherapy outcomes. The book is revolutionary. It challenges the long-held belief that psychotherapy can best be understood from a medical model and presents a radical new approach to understanding why psychotherapy works. Like a good detective novel, the author presents the problem, offers competing hypotheses, then goes about meticulously fitting existing empirical evidence into the competing hypotheses. By the time the reader gets to the end, the evidence is overwhelmingly in support of the author's contextual model.
—Martin Ritchie, Ed.D.
University of Toledo
