TREATMENT OUTCOME RESEARCH IN CHILD-PSYCHOLOGY - REALISTIC COPING WITH THE 10-COMMANDMENTS OF METHODOLOGY

Argues that one reason for the low rate of published treatment outcome studies in child psychotherapy may be methodological standards that a re sufficiently rigid to discourage innovative work with new treatment s or difficult populations. Drawing from recent reviews of treatment o utcome research in child psychotherapy, ''Ten Commandments of Methodol ogy'' are discussed, and methods of coping simultaneously with the com mandments and the realities of applied clinical research are presented . Our message is that quality clinical research will regard methodolog ical requirements in a cost-benefit fashion and will respond flexibly to create the highest quality studies that can feasibly be performed w ithout limiting badly needed treatment outcome research.