A Critical Reconstruction of Evidence-based Practice in Psychology : Evidence and Ethics

Abstract

Evidence-based practice in psychology is the dominant regulatory principle in clinical psychology, defining psychological knowledge and its application. This book provides a critical analysis and a reconstruction of the policy statement focusing on epistemology and ethics. The book shows the ideological and historical background for the development of evidence-based practice in psychology. It covers the main conceptual and empirical arguments leading to this transition including philosophy and evidence-based medicine. The book goes on to show some of the defects of evidence-based practice in psychology: it misconstrues psychological knowledge; reduces the number of ethical resources available to regulate psychological practices; does not fulfil its ambitions of being a tripartite concept; and undertheorises the issue of integration. The closing chapters provide a constructive critique, preserving the valuable aspects of evidence-based practice in psychology while developing it to make it function adequately. In that sense, the book aims to change the way psychological knowledge is understood and used in practice. This text will be engaging and thought-provoking for anyone using psychological knowledge with patients or clients. It will provide analytic resources to understand psychology better and facilitate the application of psychological knowledge in various settings.