Family therapy outcome research 1972-8

A follow-up analysis of family therapy clients*

“…In the particular case of family psychotherapy such doubts have been expressed by a number of authors (e.g. Sigal et al, 1976;Lask, 1979). However, considering the great difficulties in obtaining any satisfactory data with which to evaluate family therapy techniques it would seem unlikely that we can afford to ignore client reports as one potentially valuable source of information.…”

Methodological problems in the evaluation of family therapy

“…The adequacy of even these two studies may be doubted (Gale, 1979) and several authors have produced long lists of criteria which any adequate outcome study should have (Gurman and Kniskern (1978) cite fourteen criteria and Gale (1979) provides a long check-list against which individual studies are to be assessed). Lask (1979) gives a useful, and much more modest, list of 'minimal criteria' for a methodologically adequate study and this can be used to illustrate the important conclusion that no feasible study can possibly meet the stringent criteria which some critics impose.…”

On doing research: the dream and the reality

“…However, since I have a continuing interest in problems relating to the evaluation of efficacy and the outcome of therapy, I include as an Appendix, an updated version of the Evaluation Checklist which I published some years ago (Gale, 1979). The Checklist (see Gale and Chapman, 1984) is not wholly self-explanatory and should be read in conjunction with the papers by Frude (1980), Lask (1979Lask ( , 1980, Gale (1 979), Gale and Chapman (1984) …”

“…For example, family therapy outcome studies have been subjected to brief and extensive review (e.g. Gale, 1979;Gurman and Kniskern, 1978;Lask, 1979), counter-review and meta-review (e.g. Frude, 1980;Lebow, 1981); outcome evaluation has been developed as an integrative research and practical tool (e.g.…”