Where is the science in professional psychology?

The science-practice gap in psychology refers to the discrepancy between the availability of scientific evidence and its routine use in clinical practice (Cautin, 2011; Lilienfeld et al., 2013). This gap negatively affects the quality of psychotherapeutic services offered to the public and the credibility of professional psychology. Notable efforts have been made to bridge this gap, and several facilitators encouraging the use of science by professionals in psychology exist. However, there are also numerous attitudinal and practical barriers that hinder the ultimate integration of science and practice. Training opportunities are one of the important facilitators (e.g., Bearman, Wadkins, Bailin, & Doctoroff, 2015; Beck et al., 2014). However, little research has examined the quality of training opportunities that are offered to professionals in psychology post-graduation (i.e., continuing education (CE)). The first objective of the present thesis was thus to examine the extent to which CE workshops promote science-based practice. As such, Manuscript 1 presents a study in which we focus on the CE workshops offered and promoted by the psychology regulatory body in Quebec (i.e., l’Ordre des Psychologues du Québec (OPQ)). The results indicate that nearly half of the psychotherapies promoted in the OPQ-approved workshops are not yet supported with research. Not only does this potentially diminish the value of psychotherapy providers’ ongoing education, but this certainly contributes to the maintenance of the science-practice gap. The second objective of the present thesis was to develop a richer understanding of the attitudinal barriers maintaining the science-practice gap. In Manuscript 2, we were interested in how professionals in psychology perceive the value of science in psychotherapeutic practice. We conducted a first study, a scoping review, to gather the wide range of opinions and attitudes on this topic in the literature. We then conducted a second study, a survey, using the data from the scoping review. The survey focused on the Quebec population of psychotherapy providers. We were interested in determining if the opinions about the value of science in psychotherapy expressed in the literature were shared by the clinicians actively conducting psychotherapy in Quebec. Moreover, we wanted to examine if personal and professional characteristics (e.g., age, primary therapeutic approach, etc.) of respondents are related to their responses on the survey. Our results revealed important differences in how Quebec practitioners conceptualize the value of science in psychotherapy, compared to those writing the papers included in the scoping review. Moreover, this study identified ways in which science can become more valuable to psychotherapy, which are vital suggestions to be considered in solving the science-practice gap. Overall, this thesis examined the science-practice gap from different angles, while focusing especially on the Quebec population of psychotherapy providers and their regulatory body. The first manuscript reveals important issues in the quality of the CE trainings promoted by the OPQ. There is an opportunity to help bridge the science-practice gap if the OPQ considers revising the procedures currently in place to evaluate, accredit, and advertise these workshops. The second manuscript reveals how Quebec practitioners perceive the value of science in psychotherapy, how this value may be improved, and which personal and professional characteristics lead practitioners to rely more on science in their work. These findings allow us to make specific recommendations concerning the science-practice gap to the regulatory body responsible for these professionals. Implications for future research and the detailed recommendations based on our findings are discussed

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