Evidence-based practice and its implications for applied psychology

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is the assimilation of the best research evidence with clinical proficiency and patient values. This takes into account placing equal emphasis on the situation of the patient, his or her goals, objectives, values and aspirations, the best accessible research evidence and the clinical proficiency and expertise of the practitioner. Evidence-based practice in psychology can be defined as the incorporation and assimilation of the best accessible research with clinical knowledge and expertise in the context of patient features, culture, and preferences. In psychology, the main purpose of evidence-based practice encompasses the promotion of efficacious psychological practice, improvement of public health by making use of empirically supported principles of psychological evaluation, case formulation, therapeutic association, and intervention (Drisko, 2012).

Therefore, taking this into consideration, evidence-based practice can be delineated as a wider notion that account for not only knowledge and understanding but also action in three fundamental components of patient encounters. These include the ideal and best evidence providing guiding principles for a clinical decision, the clinical proficiency of the health care professional to make a diagnosis and undertake treatment of patient's problems, and the distinct preferences, worries, and anticipations that the patient brings to the health care environment. These three components are the three pillars of evidence-based practice (Bauer, 2007).

Evidence-based practice must be delineated in terms of behaviorally distinctive practices that can be enthusiastically and consistently taught to and followed by clinicians. The treatment models as well as trans-theoretical practice aspects take into account competencies that ought to be operationalized and replicable. Psychologist practitioners need competencies for evidence-based practice laid out in four particular classifications. These include assessment skills, process skills, communication skills for collaborative decision-making and intervention skills. What is more, evidence-based practice does not necessarily mean the description of particular treatment models as evidence-based. Another way of conceptualizing evidence-based practice is to pay less attention on specific intervention protocols and instead lay emphasis on empirically reinforced wide-ranging content-domain practice components (Davey, 2011).

It is imperative to understand that evidence-based practice does not imply practice centered and established on solely probabilistic evidence. Instead, EBP is hypothesized and acknowledged to encompass that clinical proficiencies and experience are essential for the application of the pertinent research evidence to individual patients with distinctive inclinations and necessities. The adept and skillful capability of clinical psychologists enables assessment of the strong suits of the accessible research evidence. Thus enabled, they are able to ascertain the sequence of treatment that best suits their particular patients, differentiates them from other behavioral healthcare practitioners who may also have substantial clinical proficiency and sympathy as well as comparison to the individual values of patients (Huppert et al., 2006).

Implications of Evidence-Based Practice on Psychology

It terms of practice, evidence-based practice provides the foundation for effective, efficient patient care practices. Thus, evidence-based approach can improve practice by motivating contemplation on what professionals know just about patient care done on an everyday basis. The evidence-based practice ought not to be arduous and encompasses five elements. To begin with, there is formulating a suitable question, performing an efficacious literature search, critically assessing the best available evidence and applying the best evidence to clinical practice. Lastly, it allows for appraisal of results (Houser and Oman, 2011).

Psychology is a profession in health care, and the evidence base that has established on the effectiveness of psychological treatments points toward psychologists as the primary transmitters of these procedures. Evidence-based practice has numerous implications on psychology. It is applied on the field in an endeavor to minimize error in the selection of treatment and administration by instituting clinical decisions in the best available research evidence (Huppert et al., 2006). According to Milne et al. (2000), clinical psychologists have espoused and sanctioned a predominantly specific model of evidence-based practice over the years, which is considered to be that of scientist-practitioner. In particular, this model of process-oriented practiced needs to be embedded into the initial and subsequent qualification training, laying emphasis on the necessity for consumption, application and production of research, if clinical and applied psychology is to attain full potential (Milne et al., 2000). However, it is observed that this correspondence of the scientist-practitioner has barely been attained in the period, from the time it was officially espoused.

Evidence-based practice is significant to the professional in the health care field for a number of reasons. The most important one encompasses the contribution of evidence to the efficacious care of patients. Therefore, in this case, for applied psychology, evidence-based practice encompasses the improvement of psychological health of an individual. The connection between evidence-based interventions and results is a significant one, and ascertaining the scientific backing for a practice before its execution makes instinctual sense. What is more, contemporarily, health care professionals such as psychologists operate and function in an epoch of accountability where quality issues, patient safety and cost concerns are key drivers of patient care procedures. Therefore, making use of evidence-based elements as a guiding principles streamlines patient care. Therefore, redundant practices are avoided, and ineffective practices are replaced with practices that lead to desired consequences (Houser and Oman, 2011).

Research is a vital part of applied psychology. It acts as a provision for most of the evidence-based theory normally espoused by applied psychologists when looking for solutions to the issues they need to address. However, research training for practitioners provides them with the skills that are essential for what is referred to as evidence-based practice (Davey, 2011). In essence, these skills enable the applied psychologist to make impartial evaluations of the issues that need to be unraveled and resolved. It also enables them to make decisions regarding the most efficacious intervention in a circumstance based on existing theory and evidence and lastly enables them to apply objective and measurable approaches and techniques to evaluate the success of an intervention (Davey, 2011). The implication of evidence-based practice in applied psychology is that it not only distinguishes the learned psychologist from fake practitioners and impostors, but also makes them responsible and liable for their actions and decisions against well-outlined, impartial, evidence-based benchmarks. A good example is a health psychologist requested to suggest a program to enhance physical health of a particular set of people. In the endeavor, such an advisor would need to persuade and convince other professionals of the suitability of the programme and assure them of better chances of positive outcomes. In order to undertake this, the psychologist would have to employ the common benchmark of evidence-based practice to make his or her case (Davey, 2011).

According to Bauer (2007), a vital element in advancing evidence-based practice within psychology encompasses taking note of the key phase of the process by which best evidence is used as a base to define action and application. Bauer (2007) asserts that this is the part of the process that is least comprehended from a psychological standpoint. Some of the questions that ought to be asked include: