How to read psychotherapy research claims

Begin with the people who entered the study. Record age range, setting, main inclusion rules, important exclusions, and the number who completed follow-up. A result from a small specialist programme cannot automatically describe every person seeking care.

Next, name the comparison. Was the treatment compared with a waiting list, usual care, another active treatment, or no comparison? Improvement over time does not by itself show which part of a programme caused the change.

Write down the outcome measure and who reported it. A score can be meaningful without answering every practical question. Look for the size of change, uncertainty around it, missing data, unwanted effects, and how long follow-up continued.

Finally, separate three statements: what the study observed, what the authors inferred, and what a public summary claims. This small step often reveals where confident language extends beyond the evidence.