Rod Gabel, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BRS-FD Review of Browne and Keeley (2012)
May 13, 2015
Rod Gabel, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BRS-FD
Review of Browne and Keeley (2012)
To behave as a competent and effective clinician, we must think critically.
It is a central part of being a professional who uses evidence-based practice.
1. Autonomy 2. Curiosity3. Humility4. Respect for good reasoning
Accept whatever you read or hear as fact. Search for sources that will support your
beliefs. Look for the easy, quick answer. Lack curiosity. Fail to consider other reasons for why your
therapy works. Gather information without analyzing the
information. May ultimately end up hurting
clients/patients, or providing less helpful treatment.
Awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions
Ability to ask and answer critical questions in an appropriate manner
Desire to actively use the critical questions
A desire to improve what we think Are curious, want to improve their skills,
want to challenge themselves, and take the time necessary to ask the difficult/critical questions.
Advantages:1. Gather a ton of information2. A passive approach, takes less effort3. Does not require asking important and critical
questions. Disadvantage
There is not a method for deciding which information or opinions to believe or reject.
Requires asking frequent questions and reflecting on the answers. Goes hand-in-hand with the sponge
approach. Need to be an active reader, listener,
and evaluator.
Can there be a right answer based on the types of problems our clients experience?
Obtaining a single “right answer” is pretty much a myth.
How do we know what is the right answer for our clients?
Use of critical thinking to defends one own beliefs.
Using the questioning attitude to support arguments that you already believe or to support your own position.
Basically resist opinions and reasoning different from yours.
Requires us to apply the critical questions to all claims, including our own.
Helps protect us from self-deception and making mistakes.
Used as we continue to develop clinical skills and help a variety of clients.
Does not cause us to abandon our beliefs. May also allow us to solidify our beliefs
and further support them. Allows us to be critical of what we do, and
continue to refine it. Must have an open mind, be skeptical, and
allow for growth.
Wishful thinking Feeling and emotions Arguing
What are the issues and the conclusions? What are the reasons? Which words or phrases are ambiguous? What are the value and descriptive
assumptions? Are there any fallacies in the reasoning? How good is the evidence? Are there rival causes? Are the statistics deceptive? What significant information is omitted? What reasonable conclusions are possible?