How important are the common factors in psychotherapy? An update

TLDR

Common factors have a long history in psychotherapy theory, research, and practice. The study outlines a contextual model to evaluate evidence supporting common factors as key therapeutic elements. Meta‑analyses provide evidence for alliance, empathy, expectations, cultural adaptation, therapist differences, and for specificity factors such as treatment differences, specific ingredients, adherence, and competence. The evidence indicates that common factors are crucial for producing psychotherapy benefits.

Abstract

The common factors have a long history in the field of psychotherapy theory, research and practice. To understand the evidence supporting them as important therapeutic elements, the contextual model of psychotherapy is outlined. Then the evidence, primarily from meta‐analyses, is presented for particular common factors, including alliance, empathy, expectations, cultural adaptation, and therapist differences. Then the evidence for four factors related to specificity, including treatment differences, specific ingredients, adherence, and competence, is presented. The evidence supports the conclusion that the common factors are important for producing the benefits of psychotherapy.