The Importance of Research for Therapists Part 5
Gathering and evaluating information
The way in which knowledge is made available to practitioners is through the medium of publication. It so happens that Galentia (1957) reported cases similar in presentation to the case of Chris outlined in Work Box Three. Galentia found that this quality of dysfunctional behaviour frequently arose in his sample of clients also giving indications of generally high levels of free-floating anxiety. Galentia reasoned that such levels of non-specific anxiety may be loaded onto everyday routine behaviours as a way of expressing them, thus resulting in a range of bizarre presentations. To minimise the effect of this anxiety, Galentia suggests three co-ordinated intervention protocols and then reported findings of intervention outcomes:
- Relaxation training (hypnotherapeutic)
- Systematic desensitisation (response relearning)
- A shift to internal mode of control (cognitive reframing).
Galentia’s clinical research in the area of anxiety-based obsessional behaviour makes available material for consideration by practitioners. However, such material should not be uncritically assessed, or blindly followed. Whilst such material may provide a useful perspective, above all, the reasoning behind existing research and its interpretative limitations must be considered. How can previous research reports be located and assessed? How can the relevance of such reports be assessed? How can current knowledge be supplemented?
