Cost-Effectiveness of Psychotherapy A Guide for Practitioners, Researchers, and Policymakers

The health care system continues to change rapidly in response toskyrocketing medical costs and private sector forces. Consumers, investigators,and clinicians have become more cognizant of the urgent need for systematicintegration of data on the cost-effectiveness of psychotherapy.This volume, the first of its kind, reflects a focused integration of the workof some of the world's most distinguished mental health investigators. It spansthe domains of clinical, treatment, and services research, while incorporating acritical focus throughout on mental health economics. This handbook is designedto serve as a guide, providing substantive direction to a coalescing area ofinquiry. Organized as an introductory text to a newly burgeoning field, thebook includes, among others, step-by-step introductions to the approaches usedby economists to evaluate cost-effectiveness, descriptions of key researchinstruments and where to get them, and critical assessments of the pros and consof alternative research design strategies.