Why not use empirically supported treatments (ESTs)? Attitudes of German and Dutch therapists

We enquired into attitudes towards empirically supported treatments (ESTs), with an online questionnaire completed by 190 German and 400 Dutch therapists. Therapists had different attitudes, ranging from very negative to very positive. Two dimensions could describe these attitudes. A negative one: ESTs are thought to have a negative effect on the process of treatment, and a positive one: ESTs are thought have a positive impact on the outcomes of treatment. We found these dimensions to be related to self-reported use of ESTs. Therapists with a cognitive-behavioural orientation, therapists who were less experienced, and Dutch therapists had more positive attitudes than therapists with other orientations, therapists who were more experienced, or German. In a focus group discussion, Dutch therapists gave further insight into their attitudes and provided several suggestions to improve the use of ESTs.