The Science Behind the Practice

Psychologists specialising in psychotherapy draw upon theory and research to guide their therapeutic work and to ensure that their practice is based on the best evidence available. Human beings are, of course, very complex and psychological theories and research reflect that complexity. Human psychology cannot be scientifically studied as a whole any more than the human body can. So, just as e.g., the digestive and circulatory systems can be studied as specialist areas, specialised areas of psychology have developed in relation to different aspects of experience and behaviour.

Examples of areas that have relevance for psychotherapy are human development across the life span, learning and thinking, personality, family relationships, social interactions and behaviour in groups and organisations. Research in such areas is useful in identifying common processes and patterns.

For example, our ability to change problematic behaviour and ways of thinking is informed by our understanding of learning processes. Common patterns in the ways in which a baby’s attachment to its mother (or other parental figure) is affected by her behaviour have been identified and seen as leading to difficulties in later life that can be helped by therapy.

Drawing on research into the nature of stress is useful in supporting people in stressful situations and helping them to devise better coping strategies. Understanding how behaviour can be shaped by expectations, linked to particular roles that individuals play in groups and families, is useful in changing problematic relationships.

The list is potentially endless and, in addition to the areas of general psychological research that have contributed to effective therapeutic work by furthering our understanding beings, specific research into psychotherapy has also been carried out. This has developed our understanding of what makes therapy effective and also identified particular interventions that are especially useful for common difficulties such as ‘flashbacks’ to traumatic experiences, obsessions and compulsions, anxiety and panic attacks of humans.