The Evidence-Based Assessment in Psychotherapy Study

The Evidence-Based Assessment in Psychotherapy (EBAP) Study
The Evidence-Based Assessment in Psychotherapy (EBAP) study is a research project aiming to apply and extend state-of-the-art evidence-based principles to improve psychotherapy treatment outcomes. Additionally, it seeks to enhance our understanding of how elements of the relationship between patient and therapist influence the therapy process and outcome. The EBAP study is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (grant agreement No 101030608). It involves collaboration among the University of Pavia (Italy), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA), and the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (Barcelona, Spain).

Major Objectives of the Project

 * Developing and evaluating an evidence-based assessment (EBA) approach to individual psychotherapy. A significant and growing body of research indicates that the EBA 2.0 model leads to substantial improvements in diagnostic accuracy, treatment matching , and outcomes across various disorders. However, clinical research on EBA 2.0 has thus far primarily concentrated on prediction and prescription phases, with a focus on child and adolescent samples. The EBAP study aims to concentrate on the process and outcome phases of the EBA 2.0 model and to extend its application to adult patients. EBA will be integrated with models of the therapeutic relationship, reintroducing humanistic and emotional dynamics into the treatment process, with sophisticated considerations of the therapy relationship and its connection with treatment outcomes. This integration ensures that EBA is not reduced to a mere algorithm or another "specific" ingredient. When patients reflect on what helped them in their psychotherapy, they often cite the relationship with their therapists as the key factor, rather than the effectiveness of particular techniques or methods.
 * Implementing EBA in real-world psychotherapeutic settings. The primary goal of this aim is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to assess how EBA influences the process (e.g., rapport, treatment continuity) and outcomes, with secondary objectives exploring how patient, therapist, and process characteristics moderate the effects of the EBA approach on therapeutic alliance and outcomes.

List of Project-Related Publications

 * Stefana, A., Vieta, E., Fusar-Poli, P., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2024). Enhancing psychotherapy outcomes by encouraging patients to regularly self-monitor, reflect on, and share their affective responses toward their therapist: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 13, e55369. https://doi.org/10.2196/55369
 * Stefana, A., Fusar-Poli, P., Vieta, E., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2024). Assessing the patient’s affective perception of their psychotherapist: validation of the in-Session Patient Affective Reactions Questionnaire. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1346760. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1346760
 * Stefana, A., D’Imperio, D., Dakanalis, A., Vieta, E., Fusar-Poli, P., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2024). Probing the impact of psychoanalytic therapy for bipolar disorders: A scoping review. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 33(1), 51-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/0803706X.2022.2097307
 * Stefana, A., Langfus, J. A., Vieta, E., Fusar-Poli, P., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2023). Development and initial validation of the in-session patient affective reactions questionnaire (SPARQ) and the rift in-session questionnaire (RISQ). Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(15), 5156. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12155156
 * Stefana, A., Fusar-Poli, P., D’Imperio, D., Choplin, E., Dakanalis, A., & Vieta, E. (2023). Mapping the psychoanalytic literature on bipolar disorder: A scoping review of journal articles. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 45(1), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.47626/1516-4446-2022-2765
 * Stefana, A., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2023). Erotic feelings towards patients in the psychotherapy session: Investigating their relationship with the characteristics of the therapist, the patient, and the treatment. Sexual Abuse - A Journal of Research and Treatment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10790632231190081
 * Stefana, A., Fusar-Poli, P., Vieta, E., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2023). Therapeutic relationship elements and therapy session outcomes: Protocol for a longitudinal study of the patient’s perspective. Open Research Europe. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.16466.1
 * Stefana, A., Fusar-Poli, P., Gnisci, C., Vieta, E., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2022). Clinicians’ emotional reactions toward patients with depressive symptoms in mood disorders: A narrative scoping review of empirical research. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), 15403. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215403
 * Stefana, A., Youngstrom, E. A., & Vieta, E. (2022). Empirical support for the use and further study of the countertransference construct in the clinical care of patients with bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorders, 24(1), 84–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/bdi.13153