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A recent paper by Dominguez and Lee (2017) discussed several methodological and statistical errors made by the American Psychological Association (APA) in defining Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) efficacy for PTSD as weaker than cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), cognitive therapy (CT) and exposure therapy. In this commentary, starting from the study of Dominguez and Lee (2017) we are going to express our position and state that the limits which make the results on EMDR treatment efficacy controversial are not merely methodological and statistical but, rather, theoretical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade a considerable number of studies have been conducted showing that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is an effective treatment for a wide range of psychological disorders. However, the debate about the empirical status of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and its different characteristics compared to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy remains controversial and open. This study aims to shed some light on the issue by conducting a systematic review of the studies that have compared Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Fifteen studies were identified using the databases PubMed and Scopus in November 2014. Studies were included in the review if they compared individual treatments focused on mood and anxiety disorders. The two treatments were equivalently effective at post-treatment according to measures of symptoms and global functioning. Some differences emerged in long-term outcomes. Studies that have investigated mediating mechanisms have produced mixed results. Whereas some studies have found evidence that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy works using different processes from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, other studies have showed that the two treatments shared similar mechanisms of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to perform a quantitative synthesis of research literature yielding empirical evidence of the efficacy of System Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS; Blum, Bartels, John and Pfohl, 2002) in the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). A search in the SCOPUS and PsychInfo databases yielded 7 studies (4 longitudinal, «open label» and 3 RCT), which provided data concerning the efficacy of STEPPS in reducing BPD symptom severity, as well as in reducing self-report depressive and general psychiatric symptoms. Although heterogeneity statistics were highly significant, cumulative effect size estimates (Cohen d) evidence high efficacy of STEPPS in reducing the severity of both self-reported (... = 0.91) and observer-rated (... = 1.24) BPD symptoms, as well as self-reported depressive symptoms (... = 0.89); STEPPS showed moderate cumulative efficacy in reducing self-reported general psychiatric symptoms (... = 0.65). Although the number of available studies on STEPPS efficacy was at best moderate, the results of our meta-analysis support the clinical utility of STEPPS in treating BPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]