Empirically validated treatments: Health psychology interventions

Whereas King's (1977) focus was clinical psychology, the present commentary considers empirical validation of psychological practice in health settings. Comparisons are made with the fact that most diagnostic and therapeutic medical practices in use have yet to be empirically validated. At the population level, modern medicine does not appear to have had a large impact on any of the major causes of premature death, past or present. Conversely, there is strong evidence that all current major causes of death are closely related to behaviour pattern. However, there are formidable obstacles to the uptake and future development of behavioural interventions in health settings. Issues subsumed under the rubric of quality of care are particularly important, including appropriateness (treatment should not be applied when it is not needed - avoidance of overservicing), and necessity (treatment should be available to persons in need - avoidance of underservicing). The general public, health practitioners, and health policy makers are relatively uninformed about relevant psychological practices and about the central role of psychological processes in all aspects of human health.