Cooper, M. (2010). Essential Research Findings in Counselling and psychotherapy.London: SAGE

Research can be a good guide to how to start working with at special kind of patients as well as giving the therapist a view of the clients experience of the therapy. Research can challenge the therapist to compare the findings with their own knowledge and experiences. In addition research can be used to communicate the importance of the therapists work.

Some therapist believes that research findings are not of very big importance compared to their own experience and knowledge and does not believe that research can give any ultimate answers. Research are highly influenced by the researchers agenda, the tools and inclusion criteria that the study demands and this means that it can not be directly generalised to practice. Science can never be completely objective and value free, and are therefore not in itself a assumption free tool.

Therapy should be research-informed and with theory, personal experience and supervision as afferent sources to knowledge.