Empirically Supported Treatment: Recommendations for a New Model

Over the 20 years since the criteria for empirically supported treatments (ESTs) were published, standards for synthesizing evidence have evolved and more systematic approaches to reviewing the findings from intervention trials have emerged. Currently, the APA is planning the development of treatment guidelines, a process that will likely take many years. As an intermediate step, we recommend a revised set of criteria for ESTs that will utilize existing systematic reviews of all of the available literature, and recommendations that address the methodological quality, outcomes, populations, and treatment settings included in the literature.