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8 Understanding Therapy focused on the ideal that each individual person is unique and valuable in their own way, and that therapy should be primarily focused on helping per- sons become the best individuals they were capable of being in their own personal and unique way. This approach became very popular among the public and with many psychologists and was a major infl uence in psychology and psychotherapy in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, the mental health professions are not as rigidly tied to specifi c methods and theories as they used to be. Few practitioners will limit them- selves to only one form of treatment but will learn several different types of treatment strategies, and then apply the best strategy to each specifi c indi- vidual client or patient depending on their needs and goals. There has been a movement in recent years in the fi elds of medicine, psychology, and even social work that emphasizes the importance of using treatment methods that have been validated experimentally, and there is increasing evidence that certain treatment methods are most likely to be successful with certain dis- orders. While this is an important and valuable approach, some risks are associated with it as well. For example, some patients may not like or be suited for a treatment even if it is experimentally validated. Thus, there needs to be some fl exibility as to the choice of treatment strategy based on the experience and expertise of the provider of the service. Further, there is also the risk of insurance and managed care companies using the ideal of empiri- cally validated treatment to dictate treatment type even when it might not be best for the patient, or to use this as a basis to avoid paying for legitimate treatment because the provider chose to use something other than a vali- dated treatment. These are true risks, but the basic idea of empirically vali- dated treatments is sound but must be employed with sensitivity and fl exibility respecting the wisdom and experience of the trained and creden- tialed professionals and keeping in mind the best interests of the patients. Needs and Issues There are many different opinions about the needs and necessity of psy- chotherapy ranging from those who feel that everyone should have therapy to those who feel it is a ridiculous waste of time and money and no one should bother having therapy. Of course, as in many cases made from a “right-wrong,” or “good-bad” perspective, the reality is probably someplace in that middle “gray” area. Most research and professional perspectives would suggest that psychotherapy is a vitally important treatment modality. In fact, reliable research fi nds that psychotherapeutic treatment is valuable and an empirically supported form of mental health intervention. Many people take advantage of mental health treatment, including psy- chotherapy, and in a survey done in 2004, 27% of all adults received mental health treatment in the United States. Of these, 47% reported a history of