Comparing Efficacy Research and Program Evaluation

Use your Royse, Thyer, and Padgett text, Program Evaluation, to complete the following:

• Read Chapter 1, "Introduction," pages 1–29.

   Read Carnes-Holt and Bratton's 2014 article, "The Efficacy of Child Parent Relationship Therapy for Adopted Children With Attachment Disruptions," in Journal of Counseling and Development, volume 92, issue 3, pages 328–337. This article presents a study that examines the effectiveness of a specialized counseling intervention using an experimental design.

• Read Gondolf's 2004 article, "Evaluating Batterer Counseling Programs: A Difficult Task Showing Some Effects and Implications," in Aggression and Violent Behavior, volume 9, issue 6, pages 605–631. This article reviews evaluations of batterer programs using a variety of methodological designs, presents the results of a multi-site evaluation of batterer programs, and makes recommendations for improved batterer counseling programs.

  After reading and carefully comparing the two assigned articles from this unit's readings, respond to the following questions:

• What differences do you note between efficacy research and program evaluation?

• What are the key strengths of efficacy research? What are the key strengths of program evaluation?

• Based on your review, what contribution does each of these types of research make to the counseling field?

• What is a point from any of the articles that you can apply in your current work setting or your ideal counseling fieldwork setting?