Editorial
Abstract
Charles R.Figley he lead article for this issue of the journal has Trelevance for everyone who provides human services and everyone who studies or evalu- ates human services. Also, this article speaks to the growing challenge of keeping up with mental health needs of military war veterans and their families. Later, I shall discuss the relationship between these two very different topics. Evidence-based practice, of course, is the integra- tion of the best available research with clinical expert- ise applied to the client's context and characteristics including gender, culture (including work environ- ment), physical and mental abilities, and age. One additional factor is often overlooked: Evidence-based practice requires clinical skill to be practiced properly. David L. Sackett is the leader in evidence-based prac- tice and has greatly influenced the U.S. Institute of Medicine initiatives that, in turn, influence all med- ical practice. In another editorial, Sackett and his col- leagues (2005) have placed evidence-based practice in proper perspective, one that has great relevance for the trauma and mental health fields: Good doctors use both individual clinical expertise and the best available external evidence, and neither alone is enough. Without clinical expertise, practice risks becoming tyrannized by evidence, for