Evidence-based practices for mental health

If you’re curious about evidence-based practices for mental health and how they can enhance your therapeutic work, this article will answer your questions.

Evidence-based mental health treatment practices use research, expert knowledge, and client input to guide care.

Whether you’re an experienced practitioner or just beginning your journey in the mental health field, understanding and incorporating evidence-based mental health treatment into your practice can transform client outcomes.

In this article, we’ll go over evidence-based practices for mental health and how they can be applied to different mental health challenges. We also provide a list of evidence-based therapy practices.

What are evidence-based mental health interventions? 

Evidence-based mental health interventions are therapy methods that research has proven to be effective in managing stress and treating different mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, trauma, and others.

Some examples of evidence-based mental health interventions include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps individuals identify and change negative thought patterns, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a type of CBT that focuses on emotional regulation and is often used for borderline personality disorder.

Not all evidence-based practices (EBPs) are effective for every problem, and you should choose them tailored to each client’s needs and concerns.

Regardless of which evidence-based mental health treatment you use, the main goal is to teach clients healthier ways of thinking and coping. This helps create lasting change, which enables them to better deal with challenges in the future.

As a therapist, your job is to guide clients through these proven evidence-based practices for mental health while making sure to consider the clients’ personal experiences and preferences.

List of evidence-based therapy practices

When it comes to EBP mental health therapies, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

Each evidence-based mental health treatment has its own set of techniques and nuances that make it suitable for different clients and conditions.

The key is to choose the best-fit therapy based on your client’s needs.

Below are some of the most widely recognized evidence-based practices for mental health

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT is one of the most well-known evidence-based practices for mental health. It’s a popular type of therapy that helps people recognize and change negative thoughts and behaviors that affect their mental health.

In cognitive behavioral therapy, the goal is to replace unhelpful or negative thoughts with more realistic, positive ones, which can improve emotions and actions.

CBT is highly effective for treating mental health issues like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and eating disorders.

At its core, CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and actions are connected.

For example, a client with PTSD might think, “I’m not safe, and something bad will happen again,” which leads to fear and hypervigilance.

Through cognitive behavioral therapy, you will help the client question this thought by asking, “What evidence shows you’re unsafe right now?” This allows your client to see that while their trauma was real, the current moment may not be dangerous.

With time, they can replace the thought with, “What happened was awful, but I’m safe now.”

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a specialized type of cognitive behavioral therapy that helps clients cope with intense emotions and build healthier relationships.

While it was originally developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan to treat borderline personality disorder, it has since been proven effective for a wide range of mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders.

The therapy focuses on five main skills: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and walking the middle path.

These skills enable clients to live a more balanced and satisfying life by teaching them how to avoid extreme thoughts or actions.

For example, a therapist might teach a client struggling with anger to use mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing or grounding exercises, to pause, reflect, and respond in a calmer way rather than reacting impulsively.

Exposure therapy

Exposure therapy is another evidence-based mental health treatment for various mental health conditions, including:

• Specific phobias, where individuals face intense fears of certain objects or situations
• Panic disorder, marked by sudden and overwhelming episodes of fear
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where it supports the safe processing of traumatic experiences

Exposure therapy takes place in a controlled setting, guided by a trained therapist, so the client can work through their emotional responses at a manageable pace. Over time, this approach helps to lessen the intensity of fear or trauma.

Through this practice, the client also learns to develop healthier coping strategies.

These may include relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and mindfulness, to stay calm in triggering situations, as well as cognitive restructuring to challenge irrational thoughts.

Clients also develop skills like desensitization to build tolerance to triggers gradually.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR helps clients process and heal from trauma.

It’s a highly effective evidence-based mental health treatment for PTSD.

EMDR is based on the idea that traumatic memories can become “stuck,” which causes ongoing emotional distress.

In children, trauma can impact brain development. Prolonged exposure to stress can disrupt the function of the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. These are key areas involved in emotional regulation, memory, and decision-making.

For example, the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls fear, may become overactive, which makes kids feel scared even when they’re safe.

The hippocampus, which helps sort and organize memories, might also not work properly, and this can cause kids to confuse past scary events with what’s happening now.

During an EMDR session, the therapist helps the client process their traumatic memories in a structured way. The process typically begins with identifying a specific memory that causes distress.

The therapist then guides them to focus on that memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as following the therapist’s finger movements with their eyes, listening to alternating sounds, or tapping their hands.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

Another example of evidence-based practices for mental health is acceptance and commitment therapy, which helps clients build a meaningful life by teaching them to accept difficult emotions rather than avoid them.

ACT is based on the idea that physical pain, sadness, anxiety, and other difficult feelings are a natural part of life.

Instead of trying to get rid of these feelings, ACT helps people learn how to accept them and live productive lives despite them. This is achieved by helping individuals develop psychological flexibility.

Another thing to note is that ACT is value-based, meaning that clients identify what truly matters to them and take committed actions based on those values.

For instance, a client who values family relationships might choose to spend more time with loved ones, even if they feel anxious about social interactions.

ACT supports a wide range of mental and physical health challenges, including chronic pain. For instance, clients can focus on what they can control rather than becoming consumed by their pain.

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)

Interpersonal psychotherapy is a time-limited approach lasting about 12-16 weeks that addresses relationship issues and relieves symptoms of a mental health problem.

Research shows that IPT treats depression as a medical condition, not something caused by personal failure. This helps people stop blaming themselves for how they feel.

Moreover, IPT looks at how mood changes are linked to difficult life situations. For example, depression might happen after losing a loved one or having a conflict with someone important.

In therapy, the main goal is to understand what life events are making the person feel overwhelmed and to work on ways to address them.

This may involve helping the client improve their communication with others or discover healthy ways to cope with grief or arguments.

For IPT to work effectively, the client has to be willing to examine how their actions, behaviors, or attitudes might be affecting their relationships. If someone isn’t ready or able to do this, it can be harder for therapy to resolve issues.

Essentially, IPT requires both self-awareness and a willingness to take responsibility.

Closing thoughts on evidence-based practices for mental health

Using evidence-based practices for mental health isn’t just about following proven methods. It’s about adjusting them to fit each client’s needs and goals.

Therapists must remember that every client’s journey is different—and, furthermore, client goals for therapy might not always align with what we assume they are.

Whether it’s Cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, or another evidence-based mental health treatment approach, the goal is to equip clients with strategies to build healthier ways of thinking, coping, and relating to the world around them.

Sources

1. Nakao, M., Shirotsuki, K., & Sugaya, N. (2021). Cognitive–behavioral therapy for management of mental health and stress-related disorders: Recent advances in techniques and technologies. BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 15(1).
2. Chapman, A. L. (2006, September 1). Dialectical behavior therapy: current indications and unique elements.
3. What is exposure therapy? (2017, July 31). https://www.apa.org.
4. Dindo, L., Van Liew, J. R., & Arch, J. J. (2017). Acceptance and commitment therapy: a transdiagnostic behavioral intervention for mental health and medical conditions. Neurotherapeutics, 14(3), 546–553.
5. Markowitz, J. C., & Weissman, M. M. (2004, October 1). Interpersonal psychotherapy: principles and applications.

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