The New York Times Magazine utilized the expertise of UW–Madison’s Bruce Wampold for its “The Therapy Issue” in an article that is headlined, “Does Therapy Really Work? Let’s Unpack That.”
Wampold, an emeritus professor of counseling psychology in the School of Education, speaks about research on the subject, saying: “I think the evidence is fairly clear that psychotherapy is remarkably effective.”
According to Times author Susan Dominus, “To (Wampold), the power of such a low-tech treatment is nothing short of miraculous, especially given that studies typically follow patients for 20 sessions or fewer: ‘The fact that you can just go talk to another human being — I mean, it’s more than just talking — and get effect sizes that are measurable, and remarkably large?’”
The article continues: “Wampold is best known for research suggesting that all types of evidence-based talk therapies work equally well, a controversial phenomenon known as the Dodo Bird effect. Hash out your childhood with a psychodynamic therapist, write down probabilities of feared outcomes with a cognitive-behavioral therapist, work on your boundaries with an interpersonal therapist — they will all yield equally positive results, found Wampold and others who have replicated his work.”
Through speaking with specialists across the world, and drawing on her own experiences with therapy, Dominus concludes that “just talking” can be surprisingly beneficial for a person’s mental and emotional health.
Read the entire article.