Evidence-Based Practices and Cultural Responsiveness

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Focused Issues in Family Therapy book series (FIFT)

Abstract

This chapter will provide a review of the guidelines for evidence-based practices (EBP) and some of the strengths and challenges associated with the EBP project. EBPs have become a part of the research and clinical landscape for couple and family therapists. Developing evidence-based practices is seen as a natural progression of our field, a maturing of sorts from anecdotal clinical reports to conceptual and methodological sophistication of couple and family therapy research and clinical practices. The challenges associated with integrating science into the practice of therapy through EBPs have always been controversial, resulting in frequent, passionate, and at times divisive debates in the field. While the EBP guidelines established by Division 43 of the American Psychological Association reference “contextual efficacy” at the third and most advanced level for determining an EBP, little is known about how this translates to cultural responsiveness. This chapter will first clarify what the current guidelines are and explore how the fields of couple and family research have explored culture.

Keywords

Evidence-based practice Couple therapy Marriage therapy Family therapy Cultural responsiveness 
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.University of Colorado DenverDenverUSA

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