Preface

I am pleased to have played a part in the publication of this sixth edition of the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change. Allen Bergin and Sol Garfield, the former editors of the first four editions of this standard reference book, published their first edition in 1971, the year I received my PhD. I met Allen that same year as we began faculty appointments at Brigham Young University. In 1973 I met Sol Garfield at the annual meetings of the Society of Psychotherapy Research. We shared a strong interest in psychotherapy and in its scientific foundations. The Society was a meeting point for many of the great minds in the field and a stimulus for integration of research and practice. Most of the authors who have contributed chapters to the handbook over the years discussed and debated the important issues of the day in the context of the Society and its international, multidisciplinary membership. Both Garfield and Bergin, after decades of creating the handbook, felt it was time to step aside. Given my past contributions to the handbook and long-standing association with them, I agreed to their suggestion that I edit the fifth, and now the sixth edition.

The influence of the handbook on the field of psychotherapy has been enormous. The early editions of the handbook have become citation classics. Reference to psychotherapy research is not complete without considering the comprehensive work of past handbook authors. Graduate education in psychology and the related professions would seem deficient without exposure to the empirical literature and past editions of the handbook have set the standard for balance and completeness. Without thoughtful review of the empirical literature on psychotherapy practitioners cannot expect to deliver services of the highest quality.

I began editing the fifth edition of the handbook with a full understanding of the book's importance to the field over the 30 years that Garfield and Bergin devoted to it. I also realized that it needed to measure up to expectations form readers of early editions. The sixth edition reflects the many changes that have influenced the field in the years since its inception. It is published now at a time when psychotherapy is expected to be supported by empirical evidence. I endeavored to invite outstanding authors to contribute to the sixth edition with the hope and intention that the handbook remains the most important overview of research findings in the field. This is no small task for the handbook authors since a great deal of research has been published in the past 10 years and since the field has become more specialized, making integration of findings more difficult than ever before. The authors work remains thorough and comprehensive, aiming to inform the reader while also appreciating the complexity of patients, of psychotherapy, and of scientific inquiry.

There continues to be overwhelming evidence for the effectiveness of psychotherapy and mechanisms of change, but also conflicting views about the value of certain treatment methods in relation to others, most effective processes, necessary and sufficient conditions for positive change, and the interpretation of some findings. These conflicts provide an important source of discussion and wonder that will be stimulating to students and professionals. Certainly, these conflicts and their resolution will have great value for effectively treating patients.

The focus of the handbook remains on empirical studies based on traditional research designs, but a new chapter has been added that highlights qualitative research designs and methods for understanding emotional problems and processes of change. This chapter has replaced the chapter by Brent Slife on the philosophy of science included in the fifth edition. Another new chapter has been added that emphasizes research in naturalistic settings that capitalizes on the curiosity of providers of services. After the absence of a chapter on psychodynamic psychotherapy in the fifth edition, the current addition includes a thoughtful summary of research on this long-standing theoretical tradition and its effects. As in past handbooks, the current edition emphasizes practice-relevant findings, as well as methodological issues that will help direct future research. It is therefore meant to be both a summary of accumulated knowledge and a guide for the future practice of psychotherapy. I believe the reader will find the sixth edition of the handbook to be up to the same high standards maintained by Garfield and Bergin in the preceding four editions. The handbook authors have done their best to keep pace with the rapid changes that are taking place in the world and attempted to be forward looking in making recommendations for future research and practice.

I would like to thank the contributing authors for their careful reviews and long hours of thoughtful work. Because of their history of accomplishments and contributions to the field over many years, their wisdom is apparent and likely to be greatly appreciated by the reader. I hope that readers of the sixth edition of the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change are able to use the information presented to augment their work with patients and that this research compendium stimulates and guides further examination of the scientific foundations and consequences of psychotherapeutic practice.

M.J.L.