Changes over Time: The Psychometric Data

Abstract

Psychometric assessment tools have a long history of application in the evaluation of psychological interventions, their utility being their ability to produce quantitative and generalisable measures of therapeutic change. However, the majority of research that has been conducted into the efficacy of the democratic form of the TC model has been marked by a reliance on descriptive methodologies (Rawlings, 1998; Haigh, 2002). Furthermore, the results of such work have been critiqued for their inconsistency (Manning & Morant, 2004). This has left the treatment open to claims that the success of particular TCs comes down to issues of charisma and idiosyncratic leadership styles (Manning, 1991). Recent years have, however, seen a growth in the implementation of more structured, quantitative research designs, and this has subsequently offered a more systematic insight into the workings and impact of the TC approach (Lees, Manning & Rawlings, 2004).