Can Psychotherapy Pass The Inclusion Test?
The truth is, psychotherapy "helps" just 1 out of 100 in need.
Out of 100 people who need help—only 10 will go because of stigma, cost and inconvenience. In a workplace Employee Assistance Program that number is 7 out of 100 (Harvard, 2019). But let's use 10. Out of those, because they don't feel "therapy" is working plus the stigma, cost and inconvenience, 60% to 65% will drop out before the 8th session (NCBI, HSCIS 2018). Online "therapy" is even worse with dropout rates 10% to 15% higher than in office (Fernandez, 2015). That leaves 4 people remaining in "therapy". Out of these 4, 50% will reach a state of "recovery" in 18 sessions (APA, 2017). That leaves 2. However, out of these 2, 1 (or 50% will relapse within 6 months to 1 year, Shehzad Ali, 2017). That leaves 1 that got "help”.
What does a single digit recovery rate say? That 1 patient got better not because of psychotherapy but in spite of it. Said differently, at best, psychotherapy excludes 99 out of 100 people who need help. This industry FAILS.