There is a considerable gap between research evidence for psychotherapy and clinical training. Until the training programs in the major disciplines providing psychotherapy increase training in EBT, the gap between research evidence and clinical practice will remain.

Women disadvantaged by poverty, as well as racial or ethnic minority status, are more likely to experience depression than the rest of the U.S. population. At the same time, they are less likely to seek or remain in treatment for depression in traditional mental health settings. This article explores a therapeutic, psychosocial engagement strategy developed to address the barriers to treatment engagement and the application of this strategy to a special population--women of color and white women who are depressed and living on low incomes. The conceptual foundations of this intervention-ethnographic and motivational interviewing--as well as its key techniques and structure are reviewed. Finally, a case example description and promising pilot data demonstrate the usefulness of this strategy.

Recently, social work has been influenced by new forms of practice that hold promise for bringing practice and research together to strengthen the scientific knowledge base supporting social work intervention. The most recent new practice framework is evidence-based practice. However, although evidence-based practice has many qualities that might attract social workers to adopt it, use in practice is limited. Accordingly, attention is being given to determine effective strategies for the dissemination, adoption, and implementation of evidence-based practice. This article examines the implementation literature, describes alternative strategies for implementation of evidence-based practice in social work, describes an implementation study to illustrate concepts discussed, and specifies needed research.

English Evidence-based practice and policy is an innovative concept born out of medicine and surrounded by a great deal of debate. Although researchers have begun to define and build frameworks for the process of evidence-based social work (EBSW), few practitioners appear to employ evidence-based approaches and relatively little is known about how to facilitate this form of knowledge transfer. Arguments in favour of evidence-based practice include its potential to enhance the quality of decisions about the care of individual clients, manage constantly evolving research knowledge, incorporate clients’ values and expectations into the practice process and choices, provide a framework for education and self-directed life-long learning and encouraging high-quality practice-relevant research. Although EBSW appears promising and complementary to social work values, there have been many arguments made in opposition to its use. This article outlines the origins of EBSW, current thoughts about its definition and application, as well as a discussion of eight key challenges to the application of evidence-based practice and policy in social work. These challenges include: (1) evidence of effectiveness; (2) authority; (3) conflicting hierarchy; (4) definition of evidence; (5) shortage of evidence; (6) application of group effects to individual events or clients; (7) efficacy versus effectiveness, and (8) adoption and implementation. Historically, other promising innovations within social work have materialised and disintegrated without gaining widespread acceptance. Social work's response to these challenges will dictate the shape EBSW takes, and whether or not it is implemented widely across the field.