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Featured Clinical Reviews

Editorial
October 1, 2008

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Research Evidence: Bambi Survives Godzilla?

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations: Dr Glass (richard.glass@jama-archives.org) is Deputy Editor, JAMA. Dr Glass is also with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

JAMA. 2008;300(13):1587-1589. doi:10.1001/jama.300.13.1587

In a now classic 1982 article,1 Parloff surveyed the results of psychotherapy research evidence and its relevance for policy makers and treatment reimbursement decisions, characterizing that encounter as “Bambi meets Godzilla.” He concluded that although research evidence in psychotherapy outcome at that time was “extensive and positive,” it was not responsive to the policy makers' central question, “What kinds of psychotherapy are most effective for what kinds of problems?”

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