Treatment efficacy and clinical utility: A guidelines model applied to psychotherapy research.

The lack of integration of science and practice in clinical psychology is due largely to the inadequacy of our research. There is a pressing need to evolve models that give equal weighting to scientific rigor (i.e., treatment efficacy) and clinical utility (i.e., treatment effectiveness). Borkovec, Echemendia, Ragusea, and Ruiz (this issue) make an important contribution to bridging the split between science and practice. They have demonstrated the potential for a research model that balances efficacy and effectiveness considerations. Further evolution of such an approach depends on the availability of consensus-based criteria for treatment efficacy and effectiveness. The Criteria for Evaluating Treatment Guidelines is recommended as a model for this purpose.