Abstract
Basic, process, and outcome research have the potential to inform clinical practice. However, as D. Westen, C. M. Novotny, and H. Thompson-Brenner (2004) observed in their timely analysis, the current dominant paradigm for psychotherapy outcome research—the randomized clinical trial—is not fulfilling this potential. The field's reliance on the medical model and manual-based interventions has contributed to the gap between research and clinical practice. Greater collaboration between practitioners and researchers, a focus on therapeutic principles rather than treatment packages, and systemic changes in how scholarly efforts are reinforced are needed to shift the current research paradigm.