PALF-Methods

Psychotherapy research has been from the outset a field that needed a broad range of data analytical techniques. This is the case since asking a question on a specific level of the psychotherapy process or outcome usually entails questions to other levels as well. Today for the definition and measurement of the interesting variables, modeling of (causal) relationships of psychotherapeutic processes, describing and explaining treatment outcome and trajectories or how to implement results and current techniques in routine care (e.g. feedback systems) a tantamount of procedures and research designs is at hand.

How broad the field has become is for example documented by the special issue on quantitative and qualitative methods of Psychotherapy Research (Lutz & Hill, 2009, double issue 4/5). To be up to date in these techniques is crucial to inform one´s own research and to follow current developments as well as to develop one´s practice. But this knowledge is often difficult to obtain since only few institutions offer targeted post-graduate/vocational training on research methods in psychology - or specifically targeted at the area of psychotherapy research!

The European Center for Psychotherapy and Psychotherapy Research (ECPP) will provide a research and teaching hub that is targeted especially at this problem. The ECPP is an institution that convenes activities around psychotherapy and psychotherapy research at the University of Trier with international co-operations (see the BSc/MSc and post graduate training PALF-Start, PALF-W, and PALF-PhD). In spring 2011 the ECPP will launch "PALF-Methods". This part of the ECPP (lead by Wolfgang Lutz, coordinated by Jan R. Böhnke) will be devoted to bring together researchers and practitioners from psychotherapy (and adjacent) backgrounds with developers and experienced users of specific techniques needed in psychotherapy research.

As a first activity aiming at this goal the ECPP hosted in March 2010 together with the "Society for Psychotherapy Research" and the University of Trier the "3rd SPR Methods Workshop for Young Researchers", which provided nine workshops in one week on a broad range of research methods. ECPP/PALF-Methods will provide in the future workshops in different formats on research methods and data analysis. For that a mix of in-house specialists as well as internationally acclaimed experts will be brought to Trier.

Also, we are able to provide consultancy on design and analysis of all kinds of research as well as on practice implementation of research results in outpatient as well as inpatient settings (see also PALF-Feedback).