Evidence Based Treatment practice has come to be known as treatment which is based on the integration of clinical expertise or experience, clinical evidence derived from systematic research and the characteristics, culture, and preferences of the patient or consumer or services.

Evidence Based Thinking
is a process by which diverse sources of information (research, theory, practice principles, practice guidelines, and clinical experience) are synthesized by a clinician, expert, or group of experts in order to identify or choose the optimal clinical approach for a given clinical situation.



Evidence from true experimental designs

Evidence from quasi-experimental designs

Evidence from expert consensus

Evidence from qualitative literature reviews and other publications

Anecdotal Information

How Evidence Gets into Treatment Practice
In the early 1990's, wide-spread concern developed around the methods and structure of addiction treatment. Some issues of note were: inadequately trained counselors with large caseloads, inconsistent beliefs about medications and confrontational counseling, treatment plans without behavioral outcomes, and treatment modalities without a clear rationale. In order to achieve consistency and improved treatment effectiveness for substance use and addiction, evidence based treatment began to be developed and studied. In 1999, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) established its Clinical Trials Network in order to test evidence based treatments in actual community practice settings, with program staff delivering the treatment.