Situations 1 and 2: Making Decisions About Interventions*
Situation 1
Think back to a client (individual, family, group, agency, or community) with whom you have worked. Place a check mark next to each criterion you used to make your practice decision. If you have not yet worked with a client, think of the criteria on which you would probably rely.
____1. Your intuition (gut feeling) about what will be effective
____2. What you have heard from other professionals in informal exchanges
____3. Your experience with a few cases
____4. Your demonstrated track record of success based on data you have gathered systematically and regularly
____5. What fits your personal style
____6. What was usually offered at your agency
____7. Self-reports of other clients about what was helpful
____8. Results of controlled experimental studies (data that show a method is helpful)
____9. What you are most familiar with
____10. What you know by critically reading professional literature
Situation 2
Imagine you have a potentially serious medical problem, and you seek help from a physician to examine treatment options. Place a check mark next to each criterion you would like your physician to rely on when they make recommendations about your treatment.
____1. The physician’s intuition (gut feeling) that a method will work
____2. What they have heard from other physicians in informal exchanges
____3. The physician’s experience with a few cases
____4. The physician’s demonstrated track record of success based on data they have gathered systematically and regularly
____5. What fits their personal style
____6. What is usually offered at the clinic
____7. Self-reports of patients about what was helpful
____8. Results of controlled experimental studies (data that show a method is helpful)
____9. What the physician is most familiar with
____10. What the physician has learned by critically reading professional literature
*Adapted from Gambrill, E., & Gibbs, L. (2017). Making decisions about intervention. In Critical thinking for helping professionals: A skills-based workbook (4th ed., pp. 69–70). Oxford University Press.
