Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Psychotherapy Research (Explorations in Mental Health)

In this collection, international contributors come together to discuss how qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in psychotherapy research. The book considers the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and recognises how each method can enhance our understanding of psychotherapy.

Divided into two parts, the book begins with an examination of quantitative research and discusses how we can transfer observations into numbers and statistical findings. Chapters on quantitative methods cover the development of new findings and the improvement of existing findings, identifying and analysing change, and using meta-analysis.

The second half of the book comprises chapters considering how qualitative and mixed methods can be used in psychotherapy research. Chapters on qualitative and mixed methods identify various ways to strengthen the trustworthiness of qualitative findings via rigorous data collection and analysis techniques. Adapted from a special issue of Psychotherapy Research, this volume will be key reading for researchers, academics, and professionals who want a greater understanding of how a particular area of research methods can be used in psychotherapy.

Wolfgang Lutz is Full Professor and Chair of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Department of Psychology as well as Director of the Clinical Training Program and the Outpatient Research Clinic at the University of Trier, Germany. He is Editor of Psychotherapy Research and on the editorial board of several journals in the field, such as Cognitive Therapy and Research. He has published widely on outcome management in psychotherapy, therapist effects and the prediction of treatment progress for individual patients.

Sarah Knox is Professor and Director of Training for the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program in the College of Education at Marquette University, Milwaukee, USA. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief for Counselling Psychology Quarterly, and has served on the editorial board of several journals. She also publishes extensively on the psychotherapy process, as well as on training and supervision.