Thank you for thinking critically about my work! Youâre right, it is not a direct comparison.
It shows an effect size of just over 0.6. The typical for most psychotherapies is 0.8. (see the Perplexity.ai summary below of the PTSD meta-analyses in the literature)
I did 0.6 /â 0.8, which is 0.75. That equates to 75%.
As this is pretty approximate, especially given that it didnât directly compare the same groups against one and other. I included the ~ before 75% to show that it shouldnât be used as a precise figure. In hindsight, I regret not making this more explicit.
That being said, the near equivalency between laypersons and trained therapists is widely accepted. Every single EA mental health charity uses laypersons rather than professional therapists for this reason
Glad to see more attention on this area!
A little spot-checking:
âPeople with nothing more than a high-school diploma and a month long crash course can treat PTSD ~75% as well as a professional therapist.â The metastudy linked doesnât attempt to compare lay counselors with professional therapists; itâs only about trained lay counselors.
Thank you for thinking critically about my work! Youâre right, it is not a direct comparison.
It shows an effect size of just over 0.6. The typical for most psychotherapies is 0.8. (see the Perplexity.ai summary below of the PTSD meta-analyses in the literature)
I did 0.6 /â 0.8, which is 0.75. That equates to 75%.
As this is pretty approximate, especially given that it didnât directly compare the same groups against one and other. I included the ~ before 75% to show that it shouldnât be used as a precise figure. In hindsight, I regret not making this more explicit.
That being said, the near equivalency between laypersons and trained therapists is widely accepted. Every single EA mental health charity uses laypersons rather than professional therapists for this reason