Authors: Marks, Isaac¹; Cuijpers, Pim²; Cavanagh, Kate³; van Straten, Annemieke²; Gega, Lina⁴; Andersson, Gerhard⁵

Source: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Volume 38, Number 2, June 2009 , pp. 83-90(8)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

Meta-analysis can be valuable if it heeds its originators' caution that intimate communing with the data is essential. A critique of the authors' own meta-analysis shows that the danger of overly broad conclusions could be reduced by attention to specificities and awareness of potentially hidden sources of variance. Conclusions from even good meta-analyses are best placed in perspective, along with naturalistic reviews, open studies, and even anecdotes to yield a fair picture of what computer-aided psychotherapy or any other treatment can achieve under varying conditions. The most realistic picture comes from zooming in and out and melding meta-analyses with further types of evidence.

Keywords: meta-analysis critique; computer-aided psychotherapy; self-help

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16506070802675239

Affiliations: 1: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK 2: Department of Clinical Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 3: School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, and Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 4: School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK 5: Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linkoping University, Linkoping, and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Publication date: 2009-06-01

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