What Is the Significance of Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health?
Over recent years, the mental healthcare community has put increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice. When licensed professional clinical counselors (LPCCs) use treatments that have been proven through research, they deliver better outcomes for the patients they serve. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota provides an M.A. in Counseling and Psychological Services degree that prepares aspiring licensed professional clinical counselors with the tools and training they need to succeed. Here, we explore what evidence-based practice is and how it improves mental health counseling outcomes.
The Components of Evidence-Based Practice
Evidence-based practice, or “EBP,” is a commonly discussed concept in the healthcare community. Put simply, EBP refers to a broad approach that helps practitioners make clinical decisions. It combines:
Evidence-Based Treatment
This aspect involves identifying and utilizing the most up to date, proven, and relevant research findings. They may include randomized controlled trials (RCTs), empirically supported treatments (ESTs), and more.
Clinician’s Knowledge and Skills
This facet uses the clinician’s expertise and judgment to assess and apply the proper evidence to the unique needs of each patient. By utilizing their personal experience, clinicians can provide insight into the most and least effective methods in their practice.
Patient’s Wants and Needs
This aspect considers the patient’s values, preferences, and circumstances to help create successful outcomes. By incorporating their specific wants and needs, clinicians can help customize a treatment plan that works for their situation.
EBP integrates these three elements for clinical decision-making, rather than using research findings alone. The world of evidence-based practice is constantly evolving. As new treatments are developed and new studies are conducted, mental health counselors and patients gain access to new approaches– empowering them to offer better care with more reliable results.
Examples of Empirically Supported Treatments Used in EBP
Many of the most widely known and used forms of mental health counseling are empirically supported treatments. They include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): The most well-known EST, CBT is focused on identifying and changing negative thought patterns that influence behavior.
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT): Instead of changing thought patterns, IPT treats sources of stress by changing relationship patterns that lead to depressive or anxious feelings.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder, this approach focuses on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and mindfulness.
- Exposure Therapy: This approach treats anxiety disorders by gradually exposing patients to their fears in a controlled environment, thus creating a safe space to practice anxiety management.
- Motivational Interviewing: This EST was developed for patients who are resistant to change. It focuses on exploring motivations to help clients commit to positive behavior changes.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Related to CBT, this practice encourages patients to accept their difficult thoughts and feelings to live a meaningful life.
- Parent Management Training (PMT): Designed for parents of children with disruptive behaviors, PMT trains parents to better manage the behaviors for more positive interactions.
All these practices have been rigorously tested in clinical trials to ensure their safety and effectiveness. This makes them reliable methods for treating a variety of mental illnesses, personality disorders, and other concerns impacting patients.
Benefits of Using Evidence-Based Practice
The benefits of prioritizing EBP are in the results. By incorporating ESTs, evidence-based practice can offer valuable therapies that have been tested and demonstrated effectiveness. However, the advantages of using evidence-based practice reach beyond the effectiveness of ESTs. EBP comes with additional benefits that improve interventions and the patient experience:
Building Trust
Trust is invaluable in mental health counseling. If patients cannot rely on their counselors to provide treatments that work, they are less likely to comply with instructions – leading to a higher rate of failure. When offering evidence-based treatment to patients, providers can direct them to studies that demonstrate their worth. This improves patient trust and helps them get the care they need. However, practitioners can also use their own judgment and relationships with their patients to provide other helpful solutions.
Fast Results
A treatment’s effectiveness is also about speed. In many cases, slow treatments are the best option to reduce symptoms and facilitate a return to good function. In others, however, patients may not have the time to participate in a protracted intervention. Severe mental health concerns require a steadfast response that often integrates the care of a couple of different providers. In these situations, evidence-based practice and proven treatments can help providers achieve results quickly.
Safety
Clinical studies not only prove that a treatment works, but they also test for potential risks and side effects. Since EBP use empirically supported treatments, they can provide likely side effects or risks that patients may experience. Untested treatments aren’t assessed for side effects and reactions, making them less predictable.
Cost-Effectiveness
Safe, fast, and effective treatments don’t just produce better results, but they also reduce expenses for the patient and provider alike. The patient spends less time in care and is less likely to require hospital admission, institutionalized care, or other deep-end services. Lower costs have the added benefit of improving the patient’s faith in a provider who meets their needs without an exorbitant check.
New Knowledge
Finally, the emphasis on EBP creates additional motivation to expand medical knowledge. When professionals understand the benefits of evidence-based treatments, they also begin to understand the importance of developing and confirming new treatments where they aren’t available. This drives further research, improving mental health knowledge and outcomes across the board.
Limits of Evidence-Based Practice
While evidence-based interventions are backed up by research, medical knowledge isn’t perfect. More work needs to be done. There remain many cases where EBP is not available for various reasons, or where other treatment options may be considered. These are some of the limitations of EBP that mental health providers must contend with:
Availability
Not all mental health providers have been trained in specific ESTs through evidence-based practice. This limitation can make it difficult for families to find the effective treatments they are looking for, or for providers to find the resources and training they need. Therefore, it is important to consider the treatment approaches being used by one’s mental health provider.
Awareness
Similarly, families and providers alike may not be aware of the treatments available through EBP. Though empirically supported treatments are proven through research, very new treatments may not yet be widely known, or the treatment manuals may not be well distributed. This is why it’s imperative for mental health professionals to continue their education and stay on top of evolving research – making sure they’re aware of the most recent developments.
Relationships
ESTs have been clinically proven to be effective. When it comes to mental and emotional care, however, a positive relationship between counselor and patient is just as impactful. This is especially true when receiving the EST may require meeting with an unfamiliar provider. In some cases, a skilled counselor with a strong patient relationship will deliver better results – even with less-proven practices.
Cultural Diversity
Many EBP treatments have been tested in culturally or racially diverse communities. For some treatments, however, the research may not address their effectiveness in all communities. Fortunately, this concern is improving. Current mental health research devotes more attention to adapting treatments to better meet diverse values, needs, and cultures wherever possible, making them more widely beneficial.
Research Gaps
The emphasis on EBP in mental health care is relatively recent. As a result, there are persistent research gaps where there simply aren’t enough studies to recommend one treatment over another. If a patient falls into one of these gaps, it can be difficult to identify an effective treatment. Providers may be forced to rely on less-studied, unproven practices where ESTs do not exist.
Getting Patients Involved
As the evidence-based practice movement gains momentum, patients have an increasingly large role to play. Knowledge is power. The more patients know about EBP, the more they can weigh in on subjects such as pursuing appropriate care for their needs, improving service quality, increasing provider and system accountability, and more. This, in turn, pushes mental health care systems to improve in response to the needs of the people they serve. These are just some of the benefits of educating patients about EBPs:
- Demand: As patients and families learn more about EBP, they know what treatments to ask for. This creates demand, pressuring providers to become trained in these practices.
- Education: As demand increases, educational institutions adapt to prepare students better for the contemporary industry. Students receive better training in EBP and ESTs.
- Accessibility: With increased demand and better education, more systems can offer ESTs through EBP. This makes effective interventions more accessible for patients everywhere.
- Insurance: Patients also put pressure on insurance companies to cover EBP in mental health, making these treatments more widely affordable to those who need them.
- Awareness: When patients understand the importance of EBP, they seek to learn more. This creates a demand for accessible resources, improving awareness.
- Research: Patient advocacy is invaluable when it comes to motivating research to fill the gaps. If patients press for what they need, they create demand for new studies.
As you can see, involving patients in the EBP movement – and empowering them to become self-advocates – is key to addressing many of the limitations currently faced by EBP practitioners. Not only does this help patients pursue better treatments for themselves, but it also improves the field of mental health care overall, providing better access and better outcomes.
Learning Evidence-Based Techniques at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
A career founded on evidence-based practice begins with education. Before starting their careers, students explore widely practiced EBPs, develop techniques, and choose a specialty, preparing them to deliver the best possible care to future clients.
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota offers a fully online Bachelor’s in Applied Psychology program. This program incorporates cutting-edge research from applied social and organizational technology, delivering students the latest studies and interventions.
Students attending our online bachelor’s degree program may take up to 6 graduate credits, giving them a head start and helping them save money in earning an M.A. in Counseling and Psychological Services. Saint Mary’s offers this degree program as well as a Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology, preparing students to earn certifications and begin successful careers.
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is a private, nonprofit Lasallian Catholic university that nurtures and empowers our learners to pursue ethical lives of service. This foundation helps enable them to provide the best aid they can to patients in need.
Take Your Next Steps Toward Becoming a Mental Health Counselor
Begin your journey toward becoming a licensed counselor by enrolling at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Our counseling psychology programs focus on evidence-based practice while delivering a relationship-driven education. Students receive personalized support to ensure they graduate with the skills and qualifications they need for a professional career in mental health services. If you’re interested in our programs, consult our admission team for further details. To get started today, request more information.
