Problem:
I need help answering this post in a friendly way. In APA 7 FORMAT. Including in-text-citations and references. also create a question related to the topic.
Hi everyone,
In this week's video, what stood out the most to me was how clearly research separates what "looks helpful" from what actually works. Zimbardo explains that without a control group and random assignment, it is easy to confuse personal stories or a therapist's confidence with real treatment effects (Annenberg Learner, 2021). That idea connects strongly to my own interest in multicultural psychology. In my Week 1 post, I talked about how history, discrimination, and social factors shapes people's access to care and their trust in helpers. Research on psychotherapy shows that these "common factors"-like hope, feeling understood, and a respectful relationship-can account for as much or more change than the specific techniques a therapist uses (Wampold, 2015). This fits with belief that culturally aware, compassionate care is not just "nice to have but a real active ingredient in positive outcomes
At the same time, the reading and video reminded me that good intentions are not enough. Studies of placebo effects in psychotherapy show that expectations, the treatment setting. and the therapist's styles can all influence improvement, even when the techniques are not very different (Locher et al., 2019). As a future mental health professional, this pushes me to do two things at once: keep building strong, culturally responsive relationships and also pay attention to evidence about which interventions actually reduce symptoms and disparities for marginalized groups. Connecting my own values about cultural competence with this research helps me see that caring about social context is part of doing science-based, ethical practice, not something separate from it. Need Assignment Help?