Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Estudios de Psicología
To cite this article: Carolina Altimir, Carla Mantilla & Fernanda Serralta (2022) Practice-
based evidence: bridging the gap between research and routine clinical practice in
diverse settings (Evidencia basada en la práctica: construyendo puentes entre la investigación
y la clínica rutinaria en entornos diversos), Studies in Psychology, 43:3, 415-454, DOI:
10.1080/02109395.2022.2139998
Article views: 61
INTRODUCTION / INTRODUCCIÓN
RESUMEN
El presente artículo es una introducción a este número especial
dedicado a favorecer la construcción de puentes entre la
investigación y la práctica clínica. El propósito de este compendio
es profundizar sobre la pertinencia y las posibilidades que el
paradigma de la Evidencia Basada en la Práctica (EBP) nos ofrece
para establecer un diálogo bidireccional entre la práctica clínica y
la investigación, por medio de un recorrido a través del trabajo de
investigadores provenientes de distintos países y con diversas
trayectorias, y sus aproximaciones a la construcción de conoci
miento desde ‘abajo hacia arriba’, y la aplicación de los hallazgos
a la misma práctica cotidiana. La EBP busca desarrollar investiga
ciones cuyos hallazgos sean relevantes para los profesionales en
entornos clínicos rutinarios, de países y contextos culturales
disímiles, donde el interés principal está puesto en la mejora de
la calidad del tratamiento entregado a los usuarios de los servicios
de salud mental.
CONTACT Carolina Altimir caltimir.colao@gmail.com Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Almirante Barroso 10,
Santiago, Chile.
English version: pp. 415–431 / Versión en español: pp. 432–449
References / Referencias: pp. 449–454
Translation from Spanish / Traducción del español: Liza D’Arcy
© 2022 Fundacion Infancia y Aprendizaje
416 C. Altimir et al.
This article is an introduction to this special issue dedicated to promoting the con
struction of bridges between research and clinical practice. This issue is intended as a
continuation of its 2016 counterpart devoted to Psychotherapeutic Process Research
and the questions ‘What changes in psychotherapy?’ and ‘How does that change occur?’
(Krause & Altimir, 2016)1. Following six years of significant research and findings in the
field, and responding to the persistent gap between psychotherapy research and routine
clinical practice, this special issue aims to address the following questions: How can a
dialogue be established between the knowledge generated by psychotherapy research
and routine clinical practice that takes place in diverse cultural, social and institutional
contexts? How can generic knowledge be generated that is sensitive to the particular
and changing reality in which psychological therapy is carried out? The purpose of this
compendium is to delve into the relevance and possibilities that the Practice-Based
Evidence (PBE) paradigm offers to answer these questions, through the studies carried
out by researchers from different countries and with different backgrounds, their
approaches to the construction of knowledge from the ‘bottom up’ and the application
of their findings to daily practice. This paradigm emerges as a complement and
response to the limitations that the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) model has shown,
which has been widely used to scientifically validate psychological therapies (Barkham
& Mellor-Clark, 2003). PBE seeks to develop research and findings that are relevant for
professionals in routine clinical settings, from dissimilar countries and cultural con
texts, where the central interest is improving the quality of treatment provided to users
of different mental health services (Barkham & Mellor-Clark, 2000; Margison et al.,
2000).
This special issue responds, therefore, to the immediate need to establish a two-way
dialogue between clinical practice and research, where each field creatively informs the
other in a flexible and detailed manner, from which questions arise and sensitive
responses are tested within the new demands of reality. There is a growing trend
towards the valorization of ‘naturalistic’ practice as a source of scientific knowledge
that can bring together the usual and current ways in which psychotherapy is carried
out in diverse sociocultural contexts, specific clinical or minority populations, different
age groups and institutions that use local resources, many of them arising from
personal experience rather than from the application of models built from the ‘top
down’. Here we must note that the macro-context of the COVID-19 pandemic has
contributed significantly to making the needs of vulnerable populations — such as
women, children, adolescents, migrants, the elderly, marginalized groups, among others
— visible.
Although PBE has been favoured by a relevant group of researchers — especially
from English-speaking countries — for two decades, it has recently become more
relevant (Barkham et al., 2021; Lambert, 2013), especially among mental health
researchers and professionals from Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries (F.B.
Serralta et al., in press; Fernández-Álvarez et al., 2018, 2020; De la Parra et al., 2018;
Trujillo & Paz, 2020). Much of this interest stems from the need to improve the results
of psychotherapy and the interventions that are provided in the health services and
other contexts offering psychological therapies, to ensure the greatest benefit of users,
especially in countries whose mental health systems have a high demand for care. The
above shows the need we have for a science of psychotherapy that has greater clinical
Practice-based evidence / Evidencia basada en la práctica 417
relevance and considering the routine mental health care issues that concern both
therapists and those responsible for designing mental health care policies (Espinosa-
Duque & Krause, 2020).
This is also supported by the fact that the results obtained are based primarily on
routine practice of English-speaking countries, with their particular mental health
systems and services and culturally diverse populations (Evans et al., 2003; L.G.
Castonguay et al., 2021) not representative of other regions, such as Latin American
countries (Espinosa-Duque & Krause, 2020; Trujillo & Paz, 2020). This supports the
interest in conducting PBE studies to further research the effectiveness of professionals
in a wide range of clinical settings (L.G. Castonguay et al., 2021). In this sense, the
particularities of the Portuguese-Spanish-speaking culture, and specifically the Latin
American culture, and its care systems, are a relevant focus for clinicians and research
ers in the region. We are faced not only with obvious cultural differences but also with
the dissimilar levels of development among various countries in relation to psychother
apy research (Trujillo & Paz, 2020). In turn, the gap between research and clinical
practice seems even greater in countries that have a less developed scientific tradition in
this field, and thus decisions in policy and regulation of mental health services are not
necessarily guided by scientific findings (Espinosa-Duque & Krause, 2020).
In order to provide an overview of the research framework in which the studies
contained in this special issue are inserted, we will first describe the main characteristics
of EBP and its advantages and limitations. The PBE paradigm is subsequently pre
sented, both as a response to the EBP model and as a complement that seeks to expand
and strengthen the dialogue between clinical practice and research, along with a
proposal for integration between the two. The different methodological approaches
available for practice-based research are then described. Finally, each article in the
special issue is introduced, highlighting its particular approach to PBE as well as its
contributions to strengthening the dialogue between research and clinical practice.
establish causal inferences about the effects of a specific treatment for a specific
problem (Barkham & Mellor-Clark, 2003; Bower & Gilbody, 2010). Sackett et al.
(1996) were the first to define the term as the intentional and judicious use of best
evidence when making decisions about patient care. In psychotherapy, as in medicine
and drug studies, the model was adopted to examine the effectiveness of treatments
and to guide clinical decision-making. The American Psychological Association cre
ated a policy to promote EBP (APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based
Practice, 2006), understanding it as research based on the integration of the best
available evidence with the clinical experience of therapists and in the context of
patients’ characteristics, preferences and culture. As L.G. Castonguay et al. (2021)
note, this model of scientific practice is based on a top-down approach, in which
science is transmitted, and potentially adopted, through researchers who inform
clinicians about the topics studied and establish treatment guidelines that emerge
from study findings.
Randomized Controlled Studies (RCT) are the design that guarantees the experi
mental conditions necessary for this purpose, since they establish rigorous control
mechanisms for the study variables: (1) the homogenization of the groups of patients
to be treated, with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria; (2) the representativeness of
the samples studied by random assignment of patients to treatment conditions
(Barkham et al., 2010); and (3) the application of a manual-based treatment (protocol).
Thus, RCTs seek to control or eliminate sources of variability to achieve high internal
validity and attribute the effects the patient experiences to the specific intervention
studied.
The EBP model has contributed considerably to establishing a scientific base of
knowledge on psychotherapy. The accumulated findings from decades of research on
effectiveness and efficacy have led to the conclusion that psychological therapies in
general are highly effective and produce long-lasting changes in most patients
(Barkham & Lambert, 2021). Regarding the comparative efficacy between different
treatment approaches, in their review of the results to date, Barkham and Lambert
(2021) note that the results show a mixed picture: on the one hand, there is a strong
trend towards no differences between techniques or modalities in the amount of
change produced (effect sizes), but there are also indications that, in some circum
stances, certain methods (usually cognitive-behavioural) produce some comparative
advantage.
Following this, the proper incorporation of EBP applied to psychological therapies
offers several advantages, such as the creation of clinical guidelines and tools to help
therapists make decisions based on scientific knowledge and not on opinions that can
be biased. When therapists have a good understanding of evidence, they can decide
whether and how to use it in their practice (Cook et al., 2017). Although the concern
for internal validity in outcome studies can greatly sacrifice external validity, with the
consequence that findings cannot be easily transferable to ordinary practice, the
attempt to make results more transferable has facilitated the improvement of designs
within the studies, incorporating, for example, respect for patient preference and
broader inclusion criteria such as the presence of comorbidities (Barkham & Mellor-
Clark, 2003). Likewise, it has contributed to giving a scientific status to the psy
chotherapeutic discipline and to those who practise it (Bower & Gilbody, 2010).
Practice-based evidence / Evidencia basada en la práctica 419
implies the challenge of integrating clinical skills and the contextual characteristics of
the service or means through which psychotherapeutic treatment is delivered, with
rigorous research, carried out in natural clinical settings of routine practice, that
improves the quality of patient care (Barkham et al., 2018, 2010). The priority is to
understand the variability of patient outcomes based on their individual characteristics,
treatment modalities, interventions, therapists and clinics or care services. Another
priority is to investigate the impacts and processes of psychotherapy as it is carried
out in routine practice, fostering a collaboration between professionals and scientists, so
the former can make immediate use of research results to further explore and improve
clinical practice (Lutz et al., 2021). In many cases, this means collaborating with
practitioners in the collection, ownership and analysis of data that can inform their
practice (Evans et al., 2003). This approach has been useful in preventing and reversing
deteriorating processes during psychotherapy treatment that therapists had not detected
(Delgadillo et al., 2018).
To the extent that the data are obtained from psychotherapy sessions as they are
carried out in routine practice in natural contexts, these studies have high external
validity, i.e., their results can be transferred to other populations (Barkham et al., 2018).
This advantage is achieved at the expense of the internal validity of the studies, since by
not controlling the study variables, it is more complex to determine why a given
outcome is produced. However, it is precisely the factors that influence the results of
treatments that we are not aware of that are of interest to PBE (Borkovec et al., 2001).
Thus, this paradigm is based on a bottom-up approach to the construction of scientific
knowledge and its transfer to practice.
As it arises directly from the context in which therapists work, and when they are
involved in the implementation of research in its different aspects, the knowledge that
emerges is closer to their concerns and interests, so it has a better chance of becoming
relevant (Castonguay, 2011; Castonguay & Muran, 2015; Fernández-Álvarez et al., 2018;
L.G. Castonguay et al., 2021). Furthermore, when studies are designed and carried out
in collaboration between clinicians and researchers, the dialogue between science and
practice becomes more fluid, there is a greater sense of shared ownership and mutual
respect between the different actors, and an exchange of complementary experience that
compensates for the respective limitations of knowledge and experience is fostered. This
facilitates expansion and diversification of the ways research in psychotherapy is carried
out (L.G. Castonguay et al., 2021).
L.G. Castonguay et al. (2021) note the characteristics that define practice-based
research. First, data are collected as part of routine clinical practice; second, what is
evaluated reflects daily practice as it is carried out; and third, researchers do not place
restrictions on daily practice, such as the prohibition or manipulation of prescribed
interventions (specific protocols) that prevent clinicians from carrying out the therapy
as they normally would. This paradigm can research specific treatment protocols for a
particular population, as long as the treatment or intervention has been designed for
clinical purposes and not to conduct a study (L.G. Castonguay et al., 2021). This
approach to the study of psychotherapy has simultaneous implications on two levels.
On an individual level, the clinician uses the findings to improve his or her practice,
whether in the context of private practice, within a community of professionals or in
the institutional setting in which they work. The clinician obtains direct and
422 C. Altimir et al.
clinical professionals to use measuring instruments as part of their daily practice and
assess their contribution to their own work and improvement of treatments (Trujillo &
Paz, 2020). This variability is more clearly observed between the northern and southern
hemisphere countries, in particular English-speaking countries compared to Latin
American ones. To the extent that PBE does not redefine a paradigmatic design to
carry out research, and considering the intrinsic variability between countries, cultures
and scientific realities, there are a variety of methods that facilitate the production of
relevant scientific knowledge, which can in turn improve psychological therapies.
psychopathology that is not restricted to symptoms and includes the dysfunctions that
they cause (F.B. Serralta et al., in press).
capable of questioning and transforming the latter, in the light of new observations and
particular contexts.
Systematic case studies are concerned with how the patient changes as a result of the
psychotherapeutic process unfolding over time through systematic and repeated obser
vation and measurement. They require documentation based on defined and operatio
nalized records of the studied process and its effects, in order to obtain data on the
repeated occurrence of a homogeneous category of phenomena. Systematic case studies
may have quantitative designs (multiple measurements over time), qualitative designs
(detailed and systematic observations) or mixed designs (Fonagy & Moran, 1993).
Through this procedure, research can extract general knowledge about the psychother
apeutic process while considering the particularities, realities and specific contexts of
each case, thus contributing to the construction of a cumulative database of cases, from
which the general principles of work and psychotherapeutic intervention can be
extracted (Altimir & Jiménez, 2020).
therapists’ experiences to understand the aspects of the process and the therapeutic
relationship involved in the evolution and outcome of psychotherapy in more detail.
Another aspect of routine practice addressed by qualitative research is patients’
experience of diagnostic categories and patterns of emotional distress, for example,
depression (Vásquez et al., 2020), psychosis (Abarzúa et al., 2016) and borderline
personality disorder (Lester et al., 2020). Their experience regarding the diagnosis
received is a source of information that influences the decisions made in clinical
practice, as it gives a better understanding of what it is like to live with that problem.
This type of research improves the ecological validity of the diagnostic categories,
since it facilitates evaluating the extent to which behavioural or symptomatic patterns
defined by the experts correspond to the lived experience (McLeod et al., 2021).
Furthermore, they make it possible to better target treatments of specific disorders by
focusing on elements of the intervention that favour a better recovery process.
The inclusion of patients’ experience in practice-based research is not necessarily
limited to collecting data on their treatment experiences. To improve mental health
service systems, the critical trend of the qualitative paradigm suggests an approach
based on participatory research in collaboration with clients and service users. Although
this approach is rare in psychotherapeutic research, it is an alternative option where
therapeutic decision-making can be based on collaboration between the clinician and
the client and service users can be consulted on the design, implementation and
dissemination of the research (Levitt et al., 2021). This proposal responds to the
criticism made that research may follow a purely information extractive model that
does not include the participants, especially the patients, in the reflective process of
qualitative research.
Qualitative methodology offers a range of procedures and paradigms to analyse
the data collected, including narrative analysis, grounded theory, interpretive phe
nomenological analysis and language-based methodologies such as conversation and
discourse analysis (Pistrang & Barker, 2010). These represent a wide range of options
for the rigorous decision-making process aimed at ensuring the most suitable strat
egy to approach the phenomenon to be investigated. Among other things, the use of
qualitative methods makes it possible to account for important aspects of the
therapeutic process, such as interaction and the intersubjective processes that char
acterize it, as well as the subjective assessments and perceptions of the participating
agents.
Pistrang and Barker (2010) group these methods into two categories defined by the type
of question they seek to answer. Thematic analyses, on the one hand, allow us to identify
patterns or central themes in a particular data set. These methods include narrative
analysis, interpretive phenomenological analysis, grounded theory, framework analysis
and content analysis. Language-focused methods, such as conversation analysis (CA),
discourse analysis and computer-assisted analysis, are useful for making a detailed obser
vation of language use both in interaction and in fragments of discursive material.
out on the effects of clinical supervision report that so far there is no solid empirical
evidence allowing us to fully understand the impacts that supervision has on supervised
treatments and patient outcome (Acid Test). Based on the above, Fernández-Álvarez
emphasizes the importance of encouraging research on psychotherapy supervision,
since it constitutes a relevant aspect of many clinicians’ routine practice. In turn, he
suggests that clinical supervision research would benefit from a meaningful partnership
with practitioners, i.e., supervisors and supervisees, thus promoting an avenue for
Practice-Oriented Research.
Also based on Practice-Oriented Research (POR), specifically the proposal for the
development of Practice Research Networks (PRN), Areas and collaborators (2022)
describe the development of a collaborative network between clinicians and researchers
from Spain and Argentina. Based on this initiative, the authors seek to contribute to
reducing the existing gap in the dialogue between psychotherapists and researchers and
the tensions that this generates, i.e., a distance between the knowledge and records from
each field of expertise. The authors problematize the consequences that arise for the
discipline from this lack of dialogue. In order to promote mutual enrichment and
bidirectional influence between these two fields, the authors detail the characteristics of
the professionals involved in the Spanish Society of Clinical Psychology Practice
Research Network. They explore the influence certain sociodemographic variables
such as gender, theoretical orientation and years of experience have on clinical thera
pists’ personal style and attitudes towards research. Their results outline certain issues
that should be considered when developing and implementing PRN, such as the gender
perspective in the attitudes towards and access to research and the trend towards
theoretical and technical integration, as a result of the challenges of clinical practice.
The work developed by de la Parra et al. (2022) is an example of how EBP findings
are later incorporated into the implementation of Practice-Oriented Research (POR).
With the purpose of contributing to the routine practice of mental health professionals
in the public health care system in Chile, de la Parra et al. (2022) describe a Delphi
validation study of a Psychotherapeutic Competence Training Protocol (PCTP-1) for
the treatment of depression in primary health care (PHC). They describe the develop
ment and validation of the protocol based on EBP findings — the effectiveness of
psychotherapy, its duration and the equivalence between theoretical approaches in their
ability to promote change — and the association between depression profiles and
treatment responses. Likewise, based on EBP, they incorporate the perspective of
patients with depression, as well as therapists, regarding treatment expectations and
the therapeutic skills necessary to work in that context, together with the adaptive
indication of treatment to the patient’s needs, culture, explanatory models of illness,
context and accessibility. This protocol underwent a Delphi validation by a panel of
judges, including clinicians, researchers and public health experts. The result is a
valuable tool for application in the routine practice of clinicians in high-demand
settings.
In an innovative study for the Latin American context, Valdiviezo-Oña et al. (2022)
present the model of training and monitoring of routine care in a university psycho
logical care centre in Ecuador and its results, based on the application of the Clinical
Outcomes in Routine Evaluation — Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) to 161 clients. The
multilevel regression statistical analyses allow us to observe the existing diversity
Practice-based evidence / Evidencia basada en la práctica 429
between the care trajectories of those clients, and between them and populations from
other contexts. This highlights the need for care services to be able to generate evidence
on the monitoring and outcomes of therapeutic interventions, duly contextualized
within the characteristics of the target population. The evidence collected in this
naturalistic study facilitates the identification of clinical and technical aspects that can
allow fine-tuning, modifying or adjusting training and supervision activities, with the
purpose of improving quality care indicators, for example, by reinforcing the therapeu
tic alliance given the early dropout levels. Thus, the data obtained guide the decision-
making process regarding how or whether to modify or continue with the care model,
through a constant feedback loop between evidence and practice, as well as between
clinicians and researchers. The authors provide useful tools that can be used to monitor
outcome, which are freely available to researchers and sensitive to mental health
systems with limited research resources.
The article by Fernández et al (2022) is a collaborative study between researchers
from different Latin American countries that explores the impacts the COVID-19
pandemic had on therapists’ routine clinical practice in the region. Using a qualitative
approach based on in-depth interviews, the study seeks to characterize and understand
the subjective impact of confinement on (a) the incorporation of new information and
communication technologies (ICTs) to clinical practice, (b) the therapeutic process
developed through this new remote working modality and (c) the therapist’s personal
life. The therapists interviewed highlight the acquisition of expertise and the change in
attitude towards the use of new technologies, concluding that their incorporation into
psychotherapy is a reality that is here to stay. The impact of the pandemic on the
therapist’s life is characterized as a complex transition between different positions and
alternating affective states that, mediated by a variety of adaptation mechanisms and
personal resources, resulted in processes of resignification and assimilation to the new
context and its demands. The pandemic demonstrated that the therapeutic encounter
does not necessarily require a face-to-face meeting. The new perception of the possi
bility and effectiveness of online psychotherapy marks its future use and opens new
training and research challenges. The study rescues the value of the first-person
perspective of the therapist regarding the challenges of routine clinical practice in an
unprecedented and highly changing context such as the pandemic, and in realities such
as the Latin American one, giving a central place to the lived experience as a source of
meaning creation from the Latin American reality, thus strengthening dialogue and
collaboration between research and practice.
From a single case design and from a microanalytical approach, Ryttinger et al.
(2022) provide an interesting and pertinent study whose objective is to analyse the
relationship between the lack of change and assimilation of problematic experiences in
a patient with borderline personality disorder who drops out of treatment, and the
pattern of therapeutic collaboration present in the therapeutic dyad. The results suggest
revisiting the idea that therapeutic work in this clinical population is effective and a
facilitator of change when the therapeutic intervention relies mostly on supporting and
sustaining the client’s problems. Remaining in a safe therapeutic work terrain close to
the developmental zone is associated with stagnation in the possibilities of problema
tization and acquisition of new resources to help the patient understand the issue and in
turn acquire new meanings. According to what was found in this study, an important
430 C. Altimir et al.
This special issue is an attempt to contribute to building bridges that bring research
closer to clinical practice. The collection of papers presented in this issue aims to show
different approaches to practice-based research, highlighting the particularities of their
respective implementations and findings from and for different realities of routine
clinical work. We hope this review will serve as useful input for both researchers and
clinicians, for the generation of dynamic, creative and sensitive exchanges, capable of
responding to the demands and transformations of the current reality for the improve
ment of psychological therapies received by patients.
Note
1. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/redp20/37/2-3
432 C. Altimir et al.
construidos ‘de arriba hacia abajo’. En este sentido, resulta central mencionar que el
macro-contexto de la pandemia por el COVID-19, ha contribuido significativamente
a visibilizar de forma contundente las necesidades de poblaciones vulnerables como
mujeres, niñas y niños, adolescentes, migrantes, personas de la tercera edad, grupos
marginados, entre otros.
Si bien la EBP ha sido promovida por una grupo relevante de investigadores —
sobre todo de los países anglosajones — hace ya un par de décadas, su relevancia ha
tomado mayor fuerza en el último tiempo (Barkham et al., 2021; Lambert, 2013),
sobretodo entre los investigadores y profesionales de la salud mental de los países luso
hispano-parlantes (De la Parra et al., 2018; Fernández-Álvarez et al., 2020, 2018;
Serralta et al., en prensa; Trujillo & Paz, 2020). Gran parte de este interés proviene
de la necesidad por mejorar el impacto de la psicoterapia y de las intervenciones que
se entregan en los servicios de salud y otros contextos de oferta de terapias
psicológicas, para el mayor beneficio de los usuarios, sobre todo en países cuyos
sistemas de salud mental presentan una alta demanda asistencial. Esta situación
evidencia la necesidad de una ciencia de la psicoterapia con mayor relevancia
clínica, y situada en contextos y con problemáticas de atención rutinaria en salud
mental que preocupan tanto a los terapeutas como a los encargados del diseño de
políticas de atención en salud mental (Espinosa-Duque & Krause, 2020). Lo anterior,
se apoya también en el hecho de que los resultados obtenidos se basan primordial
mente en la práctica rutinaria de los países anglosajones, con sus particulares sistemas
y servicios de salud mental y poblaciones culturalmente diversas (Evans et al., 2003; L.
G. Castonguay et al., 2021), por lo que no resulta representativa de muchos otros
países, como los latinoamericanos (Espinosa-Duque & Krause, 2020; Trujillo & Paz,
2020). Esto apoya el interés por realizar estudios de EBP para investigar más a fondo la
efectividad de los profesionales en una amplia gama de entornos clínicos (L.G.
Castonguay et al., 2021). En ese sentido, las particularidades de la cultura luso-
hispanoparlante, y específicamente la latinoamericana, y de sus sistemas de atención
son un foco relevante para clínicos e investigadores de la región. Nos vemos enfren
tados no solo a las diferencias culturales evidentes, sino que también a los niveles de
desarrollo disímiles de los distintos países, en relación a la investigación en psicote-
rapia (Trujillo & Paz, 2020). A su vez, la brecha entre investigación y práctica clínica
parece mayor aún en países que tienen una tradición científica menos desarrollada en
este ámbito, y por tanto las decisiones en política y regulaciones de los servicios de
salud mental no necesariamente se rigen por los hallazgos científicos (Espinosa-Duque
& Krause, 2020).
Con el fin de entregar una panorámica del contexto de investigación en el que se
insertan los estudios contenidos en este número especial, a continuación se describen
las características principales de la PBE, así como sus ventajas y limitaciones. Luego,
se presenta el paradigma de la EBP, en tanto respuesta al modelo de la PBE y
complemento que busca ampliar y fortalecer el diálogo entre práctica clínica e
investigación, junto con una propuesta de integración entre los dos paradigmas.
Posteriormente, se describen las distintas aproximaciones metodológicas disponibles
para una investigación basada en la práctica. Finalmente, se introducirá cada artículo
del número especial, relevando su aproximación particular a la EBP, así como sus
aportes al fortalecimiento del diálogo entre investigación y práctica clínica.
434 C. Altimir et al.
Castonguay et al., 2021), por lo que usaremos ambos términos indistintamente para
efectos de esta introducción. La IOP ha visto un crecimiento y consolidación importantes
en la última década (L.G. Castonguay et al., 2021; Lutz et al., 2021).
Esta aproximación al estudio de la psicoterapia se funda en la observación de la
brecha existente entre la investigación científica y la práctica clínica, lo que se traduce
en que los hallazgos de la primera no suelen influir en la segunda. Los psicoterapeutas
rara vez se guían o adoptan los hallazgos científicos para la toma de decisiones o los
modos de llevar a cabo su práctica rutinaria (Castonguay & Muran, 2015).
Diversos autores han señalado los factores que contribuyen a esta brecha. Por un lado,
se ha observado que muchas veces las investigaciones realizadas no abordan temáticas que
son de interés y preocupación de los psicoterapeutas en su práctica clínica. Esto puede
estar asociado, en ocasiones, a los intereses investigativos de académicos que se encuentran
alejados o pueden no ser sensibles a las temáticas y problemáticas con las que se enfrentan
los psicoterapeutas cotidianamente en sus intentos por comprender y abordar las dificul
tades y necesidades de sus pacientes. A su vez, incluso aquellos clínicos que pueden
mostrar interés por los hallazgos de la investigación empírica, pueden encontrar desafiante
traducirlos y transferirlos a sus prácticas cotidianas. El lenguaje en que los estudios son
comunicados y las metodologías cada vez más sofisticadas empleadas obstaculizan este
proceso (Castonguay et al., 2013; Fernández-Álvarez et al., 2018). Espinosa-Duque y
Krause (2020) agregan la desconfianza de algunos clínicos sobre la necesidad y utilidad
de la investigación, por un lado, y la noción de que lo que ocurre en la práctica cotidiana es
incompatible con los métodos utilizados en la investigación. La desconfianza de los
clínicos también se refiere al trato que los investigadores pueden darle a sus datos.
Muchas veces, los clínicos se muestran renuentes a permitir a los investigadores acceder
a datos sobre los procesos psicoterapéuticos que llevan a cabo, lo que resulta en que las
muestras recolectadas presentan importantes sesgos de selección que limitan su validez
(Fernández-Álvarez et al., 2018). Por otra parte, algunos psicoterapeutas consideran que
los hallazgos de la investigación llevan a cabo generalizaciones reduccionistas de la
complejidad de su quehacer cotidiano (Espinosa-Duque & Krause, 2020).
Con el objeto de abordar estas cuestiones, la EBP busca generar evidencia que sea a
la vez rigurosa y relevante para la práctica clínica y para los profesionales clínicos
(Barkham et al., 2018). Esto implica el desafío de integrar las habilidades clínicas y las
características contextuales del servicio o medio a través del cual se entrega el trata
miento psicoterapéutico, con una investigación rigurosa realizada en entornos clínicos
naturales de práctica rutinaria y que mejore la calidad de la atención a los pacientes
(Barkham et al., 2018, 2010). Su enfoque principal es la comprensión de la variabilidad
de los resultados de los pacientes en función de sus características individuales, las
modalidades de tratamiento y las intervenciones, los terapeutas y las clínicas o servicios
de atención. Busca investigar los impactos y procesos de la psicoterapia tal y como se
lleva a cabo en la práctica rutinaria, promoviendo una colaboración entre los profesio
nales y los científicos para hacer un uso inmediato de los resultados de la investigación
para describir y mejorar la práctica clínica (Lutz et al., 2021). En muchos casos,
involucra a los profesionales en la recopilación, propiedad y análisis de los datos que
pueden informar su práctica (Evans et al., 2003). Este abordaje ha resultado útil para
prevenir y revertir procesos de deterioro durante la psicoterapia que los terapeutas no
logran detectar (Delgadillo et al., 2018).
438 C. Altimir et al.
en psicoterapia. El sistema CORE tiene otros formularios breves para la evaluación del
cambio en psicoterapia, para investigaciones con la población general, para jóvenes, y
para personas con dificultades de aprendizaje. Aunque tiene derechos de autor, a
diferencia del sistema OQ, el sistema CORE no requiere una tarifa de licencia para
ser utilizado. Ambos sistemas adoptan una noción multidimensional de psicopatología
que no se restringe a los síntomas e incluye las disfunciones que ellos provocan (F.B.
Serralta et al., in press).
Messer, 2007; Serralta et al., 2011). En este grupo, resulta de especial interés la Theory
Building Case Studies [Estudios de Caso para la Construcción de Teorías], cuya
propuesta implica la observación sistemática de un caso a la luz de una teoría de
partida, no para constatar cómo las teorías informan a la práctica, sino para dar cuenta
de cómo la observación detallada de lo que ocurre en la práctica informa, modifica,
amplía y guía la producción teórica (Stiles, 2010). Este modelo rescata dos aspectos
centrales vinculados con la EBP. Por un lado, la revalorización de los estudios de caso
único sistemático, y por otro lado, la forma de entender la relación entre la práctica y la
teoría de partida, en la cual la primera es fuente de generación de hipótesis que
cuestionan y transforman la teoría de base a la luz de nuevas observaciones y contextos
particulares.
Los estudios de casos sistemáticos se interesan por la forma en que el paciente
cambia como resultado del proceso psicoterapéutico que se desenvuelve en el tiempo
a través de la observación y medición sistemática y repetida. Requieren una
documentación basada en registros definidos y operacionalizados del proceso estudiado
y sus efectos, con el fin de obtener datos sobre la ocurrencia repetida de una categoría
homogénea de fenómenos. Los estudios de caso sistemáticos pueden tener diseños
cuantitativos (varias medidas en el tiempo), diseños cualitativos (observaciones detalla
das y sistemáticas) o diseños mixtos (Fonagy & Moran, 1993). Por medio de este
procedimiento, la investigación puede extraer conocimientos generales sobre el proceso
psicoterapéutico al mismo tiempo que contempla las particularidades, realidades y
contextos específicos de cada caso, contribuyendo así a la construcción de una base
de datos acumulativa de casos, a partir de la cual se pueden extraer principios generales
de trabajo e intervención psicoterapéutica (Altimir & Jiménez, 2020).
(Jung et al., 2013; Ladmanová et al., 2022; Lauermann & Serralta, 2021; Suárez et al.,
2022), aspectos significativos de la relación terapéutica (Altimir et al., 2017), así como la
experiencia de los clientes con tipos específicos de intervención, la terapia online, entre
otros (McLeod et al., 2021). El foco de estos estudios se ha centrado tanto en la
experiencia de la terapia como un todo (macroproceso) como en las experiencias
sobre sesiones o momentos específicos (micro-proceso; Coutinho et al., 2011; Krause
& Altimir, 2016; Mylona et al., 2022). Cada vez más estudios en esta línea se han
enfocado en conocer la experiencia que niños, niñas y adolescentes tienen de la
psicoterapia y de lo que consideran significativo para su proceso de cambio
(Neelakantan et al., 2019; Nuñez et al., 2022). Lo mismo se observa en relación a
investigaciones centradas en clientes que tienen identidades y características social
mente marginadas (Israel et al., 2008; McLeod et al., 2021; Tomicic et al., 2021) o
pertenecen a grupos desfavorecidos social y económicamente (Krause, Espinosa-Duque
et al., 2018; Pugach & Goodman, 2015). Muchas veces, estos estudios combinan la
recolección de las experiencias tanto de pacientes como de sus terapeutas para com
prender de manera más profunda los aspectos del proceso y de la relación terapéutica
involucrados en la evolución y resultados de la psicoterapia.
Otro aspecto de la práctica rutinaria abordada por la investigación cualitativa, es la
experiencia de los pacientes respecto de categorías de diagnóstico y patrones de
malestar emocional, por ejemplo, la depresión (Vásquez et al., 2020), la psicosis
(Abarzúa et al., 2016), y el trastorno de personalidad limítrofe (Lester et al., 2020). La
experiencia de los clientes de terapia respecto del diagnóstico recibido constituye una
fuente de información que contribuye a la toma de decisiones clínicas, en tanto permite
comprender mejor lo que significa vivir con ese problema. Este tipo de investigación
mejora la validez ecológica de las categorías diagnósticas, ya que permite evaluar hasta
qué punto los patrones de conducta o sintomatológicos definidos por los expertos se
corresponden con la experiencia vivida (McLeod et al., 2021). Al mismo tiempo,
permiten orientar mejor los tratamientos de estos trastornos específicos hacia aquellos
elementos de la intervención que favorezcan un mejor proceso de recuperación.
La inclusión de la experiencia de los pacientes en la investigación basada en la práctica
no necesariamente se reduce a recoger su experiencia de los tratamientos. La corriente
crítica del paradigma cualitativo propone una aproximación desde la investigación parti
cipativa en colaboración con clientes y usuarios de servicios, para mejorar los sistemas de
servicios en salud mental. Si bien esta aproximación es poco frecuente en la investigación
psicoterapéutica, constituyen una alternativa para que las decisiones terapéuticas se basen
en la colaboración entre el clínico y el cliente, y que los usuarios de los servicios sean
consultados sobre el diseño, la realización y la difusión de la investigación (Levitt et al.,
2021). Esta propuesta responde a la crítica de la investigación como un quehacer neta
mente extractivista de información, que no incluye a los participantes, sobre todo a los
pacientes, en el proceso reflexivo de la investigación cualitativa.
La metodología cualitativa ofrece una gama de procedimientos y paradigmas de
análisis de los datos recolectados, entre los que se encuentran el análisis narrativo, la
teoría fundamentada, el análisis fenomenológico interpretativo, y metodologías basa
das en el lenguaje como el análisis de la conversación y del discurso (Pistrang &
Barker, 2010). Estos representan una oferta amplia para el riguroso proceso de toma
de decisiones orientado a justificar la estrategia más idónea para abordar el fenómeno
444 C. Altimir et al.
que se desea investigar. El uso de métodos cualitativos rescata, entre otras cosas, la
posibilidad de dar cuenta de aspectos importantes a la base del proceso terapéutico
tales como la interacción y los procesos intersubjetivos que la caracterizan, así como
de las valoraciones y percepciones subjetivas de los agentes participantes.
Pistrang y Barker (2010) agrupan dichos métodos en dos categorías definidas por el
tipo de pregunta que buscan responder. Los análisis temáticos, por un lado, permiten
identificar patrones o temas centrales en una data particular. Dentro de ellos estarían el
análisis narrativo, el análisis fenomenológico interpretativo, la teoría fundamentada, el
análisis de marcos (framework analysis) y el análisis de contenido. De otro lado, los
métodos focalizados en el lenguaje, tales como el análisis de la conversación (AC), el
análisis del discurso, y los análisis asistidos por computadora, son útiles para realizar
una observación detallada del uso del lenguaje tanto en la interacción como en
fragmentos de material discursivo.
con dibujos de los niños, tanto en la fase inicial, media y final del proceso. El estudio
indaga sobre aspectos del proceso como las expectativas terapéuticas, elementos vincu
lados al cambio y a la relación terapéutica. El modelo que emerge de este análisis
enfatiza que el impacto de la relación terapéutica como mecanismo de cambio requiere
de una evolución en los roles, disposiciones y actitudes de los participantes en diferentes
fases del tratamiento. La trayectoria de la relación terapéutica como motor de cambio
implica a todos los actores involucrados en una ruta progresiva de confianza y
colaboración en la que las disposiciones se van sintonizando a lo largo del tiempo.
Este estudio muestra el valor de las aproximaciones cualitativas para el desarrollo de
modelos teóricos generados de ‘abajo hacia arriba’, tomando como base la perspectiva
de los participantes, y que resulta de gran relevancia para la práctica psicoterapéutica
con un grupo etáreo de gran relevancia como la infancia.
En la misma línea de investigación sobre psicoterapia en niños y niñas, Gabriel-
Vacher et al. (2022) se sitúan desde la relevancia que la alianza entre los cuidadores y
los terapeutas ha mostrado tener para el proceso y resultados de la psicoterapia infantil.
Los autores examinan la influencia de las experiencias adversas tempranas (EAT) y la
actual sintomatología postraumática de los adultos responsables (o cuidadores), en el
establecimiento de la alianza terapéutica inicial con los terapeutas a cargo del proceso
terapéutico de niño/as agredidos sexualmente. De esta manera, el estudio pone de
relieve el rol de la doble experiencia traumática de los cuidadores, tanto pasada como
actual, en la psicoterapia por agresiones sexuales a niños y niñas. Se evaluaron estas
variables en una muestra de 58 cuidadores de niños y niñas en psicoterapia por
agresiones sexuales, y se llevaron a cabo análisis descriptivos, correlacionales y de
moderación para examinar la relación entre dichas variables. Se observó que la
relación entre las EAT y la alianza terapéutica inicial reportada por los adultos/as
responsables hacia el psicólogo/a de los niños/as es moderada por la sintomatología
de estrés postraumático. A partir de estos hallazgos se desprende la necesidad de incluir
a los adultos responsables en una red integral y especializada de apoyo terapéutico.
Asimismo, se evidencian los desafíos de la práctica clínica con poblaciones vulnerables
que experimentan situaciones de adversidad y trauma, y la necesidad de profundizar en
la naturaleza compleja de sus necesidades de intervención terapéutica, para favorecer
decisiones clínicas sensibles a esta problemática.
Este número especial constituye un intento por contribuir a la construcción de
puentes que acerquen la investigación a la práctica clínica. La colección de trabajos
presentados pretende dar cuenta de distintos abordajes a la investigación basada en la
práctica, rescatando las particularidades de sus respectivas implementaciones y hallaz
gos desde y para diversas realidades del trabajo clínico rutinario. De esta manera,
esperamos que esta revisión sea un insumo de utilidad tanto para investigadores
como para clínicos, para la generación de un intercambio dinámico, creativo, y sensible,
capaz de responder a las demandas y transformaciones de la realidad actual para la
mejora de las terapias psicológicas que reciben los pacientes.
Nota
1. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/redp20/37/2-3
Practice-based evidence / Evidencia basada en la práctica 449
Acknowledgements / Agradecimientos
This work has been supported by ANID - FONDECYT 11180671, ANID - Millennium Scientific
Initiative Programme /Millennium Institute for Research on Depression and Personality-MIDAP
ICS13_005 and Psychotherapy and Change: Latin American Network for Research in Psychotherapy
(http://www.psicoterapiaycambio.cl/) / Este trabajo cuenta con el apoyo de ANID - FONDECYT
11180671, ANID - Programa Iniciativa Científica Milenio/Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en
Depresión y Personalidad-MIDAP ICS13_005; y Psicoterapia y Cambio: Red Latinoamericana de
Investigacion en Psicoterapia (http://www.psicoterapiaycambio.cl/).
ORCID
Carolina Altimir http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2691-6370
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