SynthesisBrain and behavior2019
Assessing the unwanted: A systematic review of instruments used to assess negative effects of psychotherapy.
Synthesis in Brain and behavior, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of the psychometric properties of quality-of-life outcome measures used with adult inpatient psychiatric populations.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Prevention of depression in adults with long-term physical conditions.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Patient experiences of psychological therapy for depression: a qualitative metasynthesis.BMC psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Assessing the unwanted: A systematic review of instruments used to assess negative effects of psychotherapy.Brain and behavior · 2019Pooled it
- Adverse event assessment in a parenting programme: experiences from a multisite randomised controlled trial.Trials · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Review
- Clinician and Client Reports of the Negative Effects of Neuropsychological Assessment for Dementia.Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology · 2026Article
- The Development and Acceptability of a Psychology-Based Intervention for Debilitating Symptom Complexes Attributed to Ticks.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Article
- Innovations to improve outcomes and uptake of psychotherapies for mental disorders: a state-of-the-art review.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2026Article
- A study design for modulating two components of the risk architecture of chronic pain: adverse life events and pain catastrophising.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Exploring negative experiences in psychotherapy using an NLP approach on online forum data.Npj mental health research · 2025Article
- Understanding side effects of psychotherapies: implications for clinical practice and research trials.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- Advancing the quality and safety of behavioural interventions in mental health research: A how-to guide from the MAGNET Clinical Trial Network.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
- Exacerbation of central serous chorioretinopathy during trauma-confronting psychotherapy- a case report.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- What to do when the unwanted happens? Negative event management in studies on internet- and mobile-based interventions for youths and adults with two case reports.Internet interventions · 2024Article
- No pain, no gain revisited: the impact of positive and negative psychotherapy experiences on treatment outcome.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Acceptability and Feasibility of Online Support Groups for Mental Health Promotion in Brazilian Graduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Observational Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Adverse events in cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation training for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A mixed methods study and analysis plan for the TECTO trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWhile the efficacy of psychotherapy in the treatment of mental disorders is well examined, systematic research into negative effects of psychotherapy seems comparatively rare. Therefore, this review evaluates instruments for assessing negative effects of psychotherapy in order to create a consensus framework and make recommendations for their assessment.
methodsThe study selection procedure follows current best-practice guidelines for conducting systematic reviews, with 10 included studies in three databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science). The nine instruments identified were each critically reviewed concerning the theoretical orientation, including the assessed domains of negative effects, psychometric properties, and diagnostic characteristics.
resultsSeventeen domains of negative effects of psychotherapy were identified but inconsistently assessed by the nine instruments. Most instruments provide some initial data on their psychometric properties. Regarding diagnostic characteristics, different item-response formats are used but often with reference to "attribution to therapy."
conclusionThis review indicates that the existing instruments for assessing negative effects of psychotherapy cover a wide range of relevant domains without any consensus on the most important ones and their psychometric properties are usually unsatisfactory. A framework for consensus, building on the definition and conceptualization of negative effects, is synthesized, and recommendations for improving the assessment are derived.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.