APA asked that I forward this to our division.
Statement by Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, ABPP in response to Time Magazine Q&A
September 20, 2011
The Time Magazine interview by Maia Szalavitz was intended to convey the need for novel mental health services to better reach individuals in need. Most of the people in need of psychological services are not able to receive them and part of that may be due to the emphasis on individual, in-person psychotherapy as the primary mode of delivery. Lamentably, the headline and aspects of the story gave the impression that individual psychotherapy and those who provide such services are of little value. This is exacerbated by a tone that can be seen as provocative and dismissive. Thus, both content and style are opposite from my intent, my professional and personal views, my demeanor, and the interview.
Psychotherapy plays a critical role in improving the lives of children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, and many others. Indeed, currently I participate in providing these very services and have been doing so continuously for over 25 years. I deeply regret the distortion of the message and the consequences that distortion has caused for fellow practitioners and the many individuals who have experienced the benefits of treatment. The messages that served as the basis of the interview have been articulated in two papers coauthored with Stacey Blase: 1) Rebooting Psychotherapy Research and Practice to Reduce the Burden of Mental Illness and 2) Interventions and Models of their Delivery to Reduce the Burden of Mental Illness: Reply to Commentaries, both published in Perspectives on Psychological Science. We stand by those original messages that included recognition of the multiple contributions of individual psychotherapy and recognition that much more is needed to reduce the burden of mental illness in the United States.
Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, ABPP
Carolyn Aldwin, Ph.D.
President, APA Division 20
Editor, Research in Human Development
Director, Gerontology Program
Professor
Human Development & Family Sciences
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