“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge” – Carl Sagan

Isn’t psychology more about feelings than about facts? And, even if facts are a focus, don’t we have to really get into the feelings in order to make lasting changes?

In a word–no.  I rely on scientific evidence of what works for several reasons, but let me explain just a few:  There are individuals doing research in universities around the world, to find evidence of what will make human change possible.  I read the journal articles as they come out, to learn what these investigative minds are exploring, and then I combine the information from many of these articles, to be sure that I am not “falling in love with my hunches” or the hunches of anyone else.  I want to know that what I suggest to my patients is the material based on sound research.

I rely on science because it takes no position: Science is merely a method for examining evidence—a way to sift through information in a systematic way so that conclusions are not jumped to hastily, or too deeply held.  The scientific advance that is promising today may not live up to our hopes.  We must always be willing to listen to new evidence, which keeps us from falling into the rut of our “favorite ideas”.

As I said, science is a method, not an end in itself.  The method is that of testing, and re-testing evidence to assess whether it is sound, whether it really works.  Does it work in THIS situation? Does that mean it will work in other situations?  Are we convinced that another thing will not work more effectively?  And even when the evidence shows that a given path is most effective today, there are researchers working to improve or challenge that path and by tomorrow a new path may be shown to have greater effectiveness.  This means I work on shifting sands at times, unable to say that I have found the very last word on any topic, but I CAN say with great assurance, that the methods and measures I am using are the very best that we have today.