Research Lab at Portland Psychotherapy

At Portland Psychotherapy we care deeply about developing and delivering exceptional psychotherapy, rooted in compassion and evidence. Our research lab plays a central role in advancing this mission.

Advancing Knowledge, Nurturing Hearts 

About 10 cents of every dollar we take in at Portland Psychotherapy goes to support research. A central part of our mission is to use science to develop novel methods to help people live better lives and alleviate the suffering that is part of living as a human being.

Grounded in contextual behavioral science and affective science, we conduct both basic and applied research with the aim of helping the scientific community better describe, predict, and influence behavior with precision, scope, and depth. 

Beginning in 2008, we helped establish a federally approved Institutional Review Board (IRB) to provide an independent review of our research to make sure it meets the highest ethical standards. This IRB is hosted by a nonprofit organization called the Behavioral Health Research Collective and more information a can be found at: http://bhrcirb.org/. 

Research Funding in a Practice-Based Setting

Most behavioral research is conducted in university settings and dependent on federal grant funding. Politics can therefore play a major role in determining what research gets funded, and sometimes this is at odds with scientific advancement. In contrast, we wanted a more independent funding source for our research, one that was not subject to the political whims of the day or the interests of large corporations. At Portland Psychotherapy, all the research we do is funded through the revenues we make from clinical and training services. By having our funding for our research come directly from the clinical services we provide to those in our community, we are able to keep our scientific research independent from the influences of outside funding sources. It also keeps us accountable to our community, rather than donor organizations. 

Click here to read more on our webpage, or find more information in the following publications related to our unique business model and the goals we hope to achieve with it: 

• LeJeune, J.T., & Luoma, J.B. (2015). The Integrated Scientist-Practitioner: A New Model for Combining Research and Clinical Practice in Fee-For-Service Settings. Professional Psychology Research & Practice46(6), 421-428. Download here. 
• LeJeune, J.T. & Luoma, J.B. (2017). Using social enterprise concepts to create a sustainable culture to fund research in a fee-for-service setting . In R.T. Codd (Ed.), Practice-Based Research: A Guide for Clinicians.Routledge Press.