Evidence‐based practice is concerned with ensuring that patients receive treatments of proven ‘efficacy,’ and this article considers the meaning of ‘efficacy’ in relation to psychological therapy. The concept of efficacy is compared with that of ‘effectiveness’ and the relationship between these terms and the study design concepts of internal and external validity is highlighted. The advantages and disadvantages of efficacy research in psychological therapies are considered, alternatives to efficacy research are discussed and the issues are considered using the practical example of the development of the evidence base for counselling services in primary care settings in the United Kingdom.
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Peter Bower (2003) studied this question.
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