Empirically validated treatments: Reality and resistance.

Although not free from methodological problems, the Task Force report represents an important step toward identifying effective treatments for major clinical disorders. The commitment to empirical research that this report embodies is part of what could be an overdue move toward greater accountability in clinical training and practice. The time-honored reliance on therapists' clinical judgments in formulating individual treatment plans needs to be critically examined in the light of their well-documented limitations and the informed use of empirically supported, manual-based treatments. The reality of common factors across different treatments does not conflict with the effectiveness of specific treatments for particular disorders.