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?