Clinical Reference
Evidence-Based Treatments.
A tiered reference of psychotherapeutic interventions organized by strength of empirical evidence. Drawn from APA Division 12, NICE guidelines, Cochrane reviews, and VA/DoD clinical practice guidelines.
How this list is organized
Strong Evidence means multiple well-powered RCTs, meta-analytic support, and endorsement by major guidelines bodies (APA, NICE, VA/DoD). Moderate Evidence means at least one well-designed RCT with replication underway, or strong open-trial data with growing guideline support. Anecdotal means clinical use outpaces the evidence — these treatments may be widely practiced but lack sufficient controlled research, have conflicting findings, or are difficult to study rigorously. Frameworks are transdiagnostic approaches that organize treatment rather than prescribe specific techniques.
This reference focuses on psychotherapy. Pharmacological treatments, neurostimulation, and combined medication/therapy protocols are outside its scope. Inclusion does not constitute a Theracharts endorsement; omission does not imply a treatment is ineffective.
Strong Evidence
Tier 1
Multiple RCTs, meta-analytic support, and endorsement from major clinical guidelines bodies.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT
Primary indications: Depression, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, OCD, insomnia, PTSD, bulimia nervosa, chronic pain
Exposure Therapy
In Vivo, Imaginal, Interoceptive
Primary indications: Specific phobias, social anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, PTSD, agoraphobia
Behavioral Activation
BA
Primary indications: Depression (comparable to full CBT in RCTs), low motivation, anhedonia
Prolonged Exposure
PE
Primary indications: PTSD (VA/DoD first-line recommendation)
Cognitive Processing Therapy
CPT
Primary indications: PTSD (VA/DoD first-line recommendation alongside PE)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
DBT
Primary indications: Borderline personality disorder, chronic suicidality, self-harm, emotion dysregulation
Interpersonal Therapy
IPT
Primary indications: Depression (comparable efficacy to CBT), perinatal depression, bulimia nervosa
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
ACT
Primary indications: Chronic pain, depression, anxiety, substance use, psychological flexibility broadly
Motivational Interviewing
MI
Primary indications: Substance use disorders, treatment engagement, health behavior change, ambivalence
Exposure and Response Prevention
ERP
Primary indications: OCD (APA first-line, NICE first-line)
CBT for Insomnia
CBT-I
Primary indications: Chronic insomnia (AASM first-line over medication), sleep-onset and maintenance difficulty
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
PCIT
Primary indications: Disruptive behavior in children ages 2–7, conduct problems, parent-child relationship difficulties
Trauma-Focused CBT
TF-CBT
Primary indications: PTSD in children and adolescents, child sexual abuse, traumatic grief
Applied Behavior Analysis
ABA
Primary indications: Autism spectrum disorder (skill acquisition, behavioral intervention)
Multisystemic Therapy
MST
Primary indications: Serious antisocial behavior in adolescents, juvenile offending, family-level intervention
Contingency Management
CM
Primary indications: Stimulant use disorder, substance use disorders broadly, treatment adherence
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders
CBT-E
Primary indications: Bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, transdiagnostic eating pathology
Family-Based Treatment
FBT / Maudsley
Primary indications: Anorexia nervosa in adolescents (NICE first-line)
Social Skills Training
SST
Primary indications: Schizophrenia (functional recovery), autism spectrum disorder, social anxiety
Functional Family Therapy
FFT
Primary indications: Adolescent substance use, delinquency, family conflict
Moderate Evidence
Tier 2
At least one well-designed RCT with replication underway, strong open-trial data, or growing guideline support.
Emotionally Focused Therapy
EFT
Primary indications: Couple distress, attachment injuries, relationship repair
Gottman Method Couples Therapy
Primary indications: Couple distress, communication breakdown, conflict management
Extensive research on relationship predictors; RCTs on the therapy method itself are still limited relative to EFT.
Mentalization-Based Treatment
MBT
Primary indications: Borderline personality disorder, self-harm (NICE-recommended alternative to DBT)
Schema Therapy
ST
Primary indications: Personality disorders (especially BPD — Dutch RCTs showing strong outcomes), chronic depression
Metacognitive Therapy
MCT
Primary indications: GAD, depression, PTSD, OCD (Wells model — growing RCT base, some showing superiority to CBT for GAD)
Compassion-Focused Therapy
CFT
Primary indications: Shame-based presentations, self-criticism, eating disorders, complex trauma
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
MBCT
Primary indications: Depression relapse prevention (NICE-recommended for 3+ episodes)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
MBSR
Primary indications: Chronic pain, stress, anxiety (strong evidence for pain; weaker for psychiatric conditions specifically)
Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy
STPP
Primary indications: Depression, anxiety, personality difficulties (Cochrane reviews show moderate effect sizes)
CBASP
Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy
Primary indications: Chronic depression (Keller et al. landmark trial; designed specifically for persistent depressive disorder)
Narrative Exposure Therapy
NET
Primary indications: PTSD from repeated/multiple traumas, refugees, conflict-zone survivors
Cognitive Remediation Therapy
CRT
Primary indications: Schizophrenia (cognitive deficits), anorexia nervosa (cognitive rigidity)
Behavioral Couples Therapy for SUD
BCT
Primary indications: Substance use disorders with a committed partner (combines relationship work with sobriety support)
Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality
CAMS
Primary indications: Suicidal ideation and behavior (therapeutic framework + risk assessment, growing RCT evidence)
Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy
Primary indications: Treatment-resistant depression, end-of-life distress, major depressive disorder
Phase II trials are very promising. Phase III underway. Not yet FDA-approved. Research is current and rapidly evolving.
MDMA-Assisted Therapy
Primary indications: PTSD (Phase III trials showed large effect sizes)
FDA declined initial approval in 2024, citing trial methodology concerns. Sponsor is addressing feedback. Research is ongoing.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents
DBT-A
Primary indications: Self-harm in adolescents, suicidality, emotion dysregulation in teens
Radically Open DBT
RO-DBT
Primary indications: Overcontrolled presentations — chronic depression, anorexia nervosa, OCD-spectrum
Cognitive Therapy for Personality Disorders
CT / Beck
Primary indications: Personality disorders broadly (Beck/Freeman model), avoidant PD, dependent PD
Problem-Solving Therapy
PST
Primary indications: Depression (especially in primary care and older adults), cancer-related distress
Anecdotal
Tier 3
Clinical use outpaces the evidence. These treatments may be widely practiced but lack sufficient controlled research, have conflicting findings, or are inherently difficult to study rigorously.
Internal Family Systems
IFS
Primary indications: Complex trauma, dissociative experiences, self-concept work
Very widely practiced, but published RCTs are limited. A few pilot studies exist; large-scale trials have not been conducted.
Somatic Experiencing
SE
Primary indications: Trauma, somatic symptoms, nervous system dysregulation
Rooted in Levine's polyvagal-adjacent theory. Small RCTs exist but the body-based mechanism is difficult to isolate and study.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Primary indications: Trauma, attachment disruptions, somatic manifestations of psychological distress
Well-articulated clinical model (Pat Ogden) but largely supported by case studies and clinical observation rather than RCTs.
Equine-Assisted Therapy
EAT / EAP
Primary indications: Trauma, behavioral disorders in youth, autism spectrum disorder
Difficult to control for (no sham horse). Small studies show positive trends, but blinding and randomization are inherent challenges.
Art Therapy
Primary indications: Trauma, dementia, schizophrenia, pediatric populations
Heterogeneous interventions make standardized study difficult. Some Cochrane support for schizophrenia specifically.
Music Therapy
Primary indications: Dementia, depression, schizophrenia, autism, pain management
Cochrane reviews show moderate effects for depression and schizophrenia. Evidence is stronger than most creative arts therapies but still limited by study quality.
Sandplay / Sand Tray Therapy
Primary indications: Children's trauma, grief, nonverbal processing
Widely used in play therapy practice. Evidence is largely clinical observation and small case series rather than controlled trials.
Neurofeedback
EEG Biofeedback
Primary indications: ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, peak performance
Conflicting evidence. Some ADHD studies are positive, but sham-controlled trials often fail to separate specific effects from placebo.
Brainspotting
Primary indications: Trauma, performance anxiety, somatic conditions
Derived from EMDR. Only a handful of published studies exist. Theoretical mechanism is not well established.
Hakomi Method
Primary indications: Trauma, self-awareness, mindfulness-based somatic processing
Experiential body-centered method with a coherent training model. Published controlled research is essentially absent.
Frameworks & Transdiagnostic Approaches
Tier 4
These are organizing frameworks, philosophies of care, or transdiagnostic principles rather than manualized treatments targeting specific disorders. They inform how therapy is conducted rather than prescribing specific techniques.
Measurement-Based Care
MBC
Description: Routine administration of validated measures to track progress and inform treatment. Meta-analyses show MBC improves outcomes regardless of the specific therapy used.
Common Factors / Contextual Model
Description: Wampold's model: therapeutic alliance, expectancy, and doing something structured account for most variance in outcomes across modalities. Not a treatment, but a lens for understanding why treatments work.
Feedback-Informed Treatment
FIT
Description: Systematic use of client feedback (ORS/SRS) to guide treatment. Overlaps significantly with MBC. Strong evidence that feedback improves outcomes and reduces dropout.
Unified Protocol
UP / Barlow
Description: Transdiagnostic CBT framework targeting neuroticism and emotional disorders broadly. Growing RCT evidence, but functions more as an organizing principle than a disorder-specific protocol.
Trauma-Informed Care
TIC
Description: An organizational and clinical framework (SAMHSA) emphasizing safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural sensitivity. Not a specific treatment.
Person-Centered / Rogerian Therapy
Description: Rogers' core conditions (empathy, unconditional positive regard, congruence) as both a standalone approach and the foundation underlying most therapeutic relationships.
Psychoeducation
Description: Structured education about mental health conditions, coping strategies, and treatment. A component of nearly every evidence-based protocol, rarely delivered as a standalone treatment.
Stepped Care Model
Description: NICE-endorsed service delivery framework: start with least intensive intervention, step up only if needed. Not a therapy — an approach to matching treatment intensity to need.
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