Table of Contents

Preface ix

Part I: Lay of the Land

1 The Need for Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice 3

2 Sources of Influence on Clinical Decisions 29

3 R easons and Reasoning: The Heart of Making Decisions 57

4 Different Views of Knowledge and How to Get It: Exploring Your Personal Epistemology 87

Part II: Common Sources of Error

5 The Influence of Language and Persuasion Strategies 131

6 Formal and Informal Fallacies: Mistakes in Thinking and How to Avoid Them 155

7 Classification, Authority, and Focusing on Pathology 181

Part III: Decision Aids

8 Content and Procedural Knowledge 209

9 Taking Advantage of Research on Judgment, Problem Solving, and Decision Making 239

10 Evidence-Based Practice: A Philosophy and Process for Making Informed Decisions 275

11 Posing Questions and Searching for Answers 297

12 Critical Appraisal of Practice- and Policy-Related Research: The Need for Skepticism 335

Part IV: Applying Critical Thinking Skills to Clinical Decisions 13 Making Decisions About Data Collection 377

14 Discovering Causes of Clients’ Problems: Common Biases 409

15 Making Predictions: Improving the Odds 453

16 Enhancing the Quality of Case Conferences, Team Meetings, and Organizational Culture 481

Part V: The Future

17 Overcoming Personal Obstacles to Critical Thinking 509

18 Maintaining Critical Thinking Skills 533

References 549

About the Author 623

Author Index 625

Subject Index 641

About the Author

Eileen Gambrill is the Hutto Patterson Professor of Child and Family Studies at the School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, where she teaches both research and practice. Her research and writing cover professional decision making, evidence-informed practice, the role of critical thinking, propaganda in the helping professions and its harmful effects, and the ethics of helping. She presents nationally and internationally on the topics of critical thinking, evidence-informed practice, and the ethics of helping.

Reviews

"...she has produced an ambitious and impressively comprehensive book that belongs in the library of every clinician and in the backpack of every graduate student." ( PsycCRITIQUES ) "The book does work best as a reference: each topic is a separate research area in its own right" ( Evidence Based Medicine ) "Anyone seeking a succinct, well-written, easy-to-read survey of faculty reasoning and how to cure it should look no further. Gambrill's book should be the required text for any course in critical thinking for psychotherapists, a course urgently needed by every psychiatric, clinical psychology, and social work training program in existence today." ( Skeptical Inquirer ) "Clinical training programs cannot discount the importance of critical thinking or the knowledge and skills that it requires. It is hard to justify the absence of a course focusing on the wide-ranging material woven together in Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice. By supplying a model textbook for such a course, Gambrill has made a valuable contribution." ( Contemporary Psychology ) "[ Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice ] is essential reading for all who aspire to improve the quality of clinical practice. In some respects, this book might be called "the thinking social worker's guide to improved practice." The very questions that are raised by Gambrill are as important as the answers that she proposes." ( Research in Social Work Practice ) "For the research instructor, this volume presents a potential bridge for the gap between research and practice. It would be an ideal text for a course that would focus on how critical thinking that employs research concepts and methods can improve clinical decision making. In addition, readers are provided with a variety of approaches to monitor and improve their decision making skills." ( Social Work in Health Care )