Critical thinking and its impact on therapeutic treatment outcomes: a critical examination

ABSTRACT

The literature on critical thinking (CT) in counselling and therapy generally posits higher quality outcomes when CT is applied in therapeutic treatment. We critically examine support for the claim that CT improves clinical outcomes. The purported effects of CT are first identified by arguments in favour of using CT in therapeutic treatment, both in terms of its general efficacy and with regard to its applicability in professional counselling. We then underscore limitations in the current literature, highlighting mainly a gap between theory and practice. Overall, our results suggest that available evidence provides primarily inferential, rather than direct, support for the claim that CT positively influences therapy outcomes. We close the paper by proposing research questions to guide further empirical investigation.

KEYWORDS:

• Human services
• critical thinking
• counselling
• therapy
• treatment outcomes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Other cognitive skills and dispositions include diligently sustaining cognitive exertion, valuing information, an intrinsic appreciation for learning, thoughtful consideration of the limits of one’s knowledge and the possibility of being wrong, as well as deriving enjoyment from thinking about thinking.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Izaak L. Williams

Izaak L. Williams is a research-practitioner in the counseling field. His interest includes the application of psychological principles to clinical phenomena and philosophical issues. He can be contacted at [email protected]

David E. Wright

David E. Wright is an independent scholar. He has research interests in critical thinking, forgiveness, ethics, and metacognition. He can be contacted at [email protected]