2010/01/21 by Robert Elliott · 362 citations
Psychology · Engineering · #Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications #Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics #Psychiatric care and mental health services #Psychotherapist #Psychology #Process (computing) #Engineering ethics #Process management #Computer science #Engineering
paper · doi:10.1080/10503300903470743
published in Psychotherapy Research 20(2), 123-135 (Routledge)
openalex publication_date 2010/01/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
Change process research (CPR) is the study of the processes by which change occurs in psychotherapy and is a necessary complement to randomized clinical trials and other forms of efficacy research. In this article the author describes and evaluates four types of CPR. The first three are basic designs and include quantitative process-outcome, qualitative helpful factors, and microanalytic sequential process; the fourth, the significant events approach, refers to methods such as task analysis and comprehensive process analysis that integrate the first three. The strengths and weaknesses of each design are described and summarized using both causal and practical criteria as part of an overall argument for systematic methodological pluralism.