Science and Research Committee (SARC)

The SARC’s principal mission within the EAP is to facilitate the access of psychotherapy practitioners to research and to bridge the well-known gap between practitioners and researchers. There are several forms and designs of practicing research in the field of psychotherapy. SARC contributes to the discussions about appropriate research designs that respect the nature of interpersonal processes in psychotherapy. Research is a complex and highly technical multidisciplinary activity and to achieve our goals, we have built a network with respected international researchers. Through this contact we offer the possibility for a working relationship between researchers and EAP trained psychotherapists. For example, by participating in ongoing psychotherapy research studies, we can bring our contribution to the research in the form of our everyday experience as clinicians in the field. These possibilities create dialogue and help to reduce the practitioner-researcher gap as each understand better the needs, objectives and methods of the other. The finality being that research can result in a form of practical knowledge that clinicians feel able to evaluate and eventually integrate into their clinical considerations when treating patients. This leads to a more informed and chosen form of “evidenced based practice”.

Members | Science and Research Committee (SARC)

The aims of the SARC are the following:

1. To support the framework of research in psychotherapy and collaborate with other organisations (universities; research societies, etc.) doing research in psychotherapy.
2. To encourage member organisations of EAP to do research in psychotherapy and to disseminate communication and information about the research activities of member organisations of EAP concerning psychotherapy research.
3. To give access to information and advice about the contemporary parameters of psychotherapy research that might be appropriate (for EAP projects) and of a high standard.
4. To give information and assist access to existing databases and support members to make good use of these resources for research.
5. To give information about actual research projects that are suitable for every-day practice and that practitioners can participate in.
6. To help in the publishing of articles and projects in psychotherapy research in the IJP and in other psychotherapy research journals.
7. To support and encourage research activities: i.e. educational workshops, seminars, and professional meetings, organized by the EAP or member organizations.
8. To develop research projects with the support of the EAP.
9. To raise awareness in the psychotherapeutic community of the importance that psychotherapy research will have in the future development of the psychotherapy as an independent profession.
10. To support the ETSC in the development of the EAP training standards, which will include research issues in psychotherapy training.
11. To support communication between members of EAP concerning ethical standards for psychotherapy research.
12. To support continuing professional development (CPD) relating to psychotherapy research.