A new scale for assessing the quality of randomized clinical trials of psychotherapy
published online 31 August 2009.
Abstract
Context
In 2004, the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Research on Psychiatric Treatments appointed a subcommittee to investigate the status of empirical evidence with regard to psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Objective
As a part of this effort, the committee developed a rating scale designed to assess the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of psychotherapy.
Data Sources
A 25-item RCT of Psychotherapy Quality Rating Scale was generated by expert consensus. Interrater reliability, internal consistency, and validity testing were undertaken using 7 trained raters.
Study Selection
A PubMed search was conducted to locate all RCTs of psychotherapies identified by their authors as being “psychodynamic” or “psychoanalytic” in origin and implementation.
Data Extraction
A total of 69 RCTs were independently rated by 2 raters.
Data Synthesis
The scale was found to have good interrater reliability (total score intraclass correlation = 0.76), internal consistency (Cronbach α = .87), and external validity.
Conclusions
This scale establishes a new standard for the design and execution of psychotherapy RCTs and provides a systematic empirical method for evaluating the quality of published RCTs.
aWeill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
bColumbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA
cDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Previous presentation: Portions of this work were presented at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, May 22, 2006, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the American Psychoanalytic Association 2006 Winter Meeting. January 13, 2006, New York, NY.
ABSTRACT