Empirically supported interventions and school psychology: Rationale and methodological issues - Part I

In Part I of this two-part article, we present historical, contextual, and methodological perspectives on the use of empirically supported interventions in school and community settings. Historical advances in this area are reviewed within the context of the scientist-practitioner model, psychotherapy outcome research, meta-analysis, and the development of criteria and practice guidelines for empirically supported interventions. The rationale for empirically supported interventions in school psychology practice encompasses schooling issues, including school restructuring, special education, and the research-practice gap. Methodological challenges discussed include issues surrounding the terminology used in the area of empirically supported interventions, criteria for classifying interventions as supported, methods of summarizing the literature, and publication of negative results.