Journal of Marital and Family Therapy January 2002,Vol. 28, No. 1, 61-67 CLINICIAN IDENTIFIED BARRIERS TO CLINICAL RESEARCH Jonathan G. Sandberg Sy'racuse Uniiversity Lee N. Johnson Friends Universint Mihaela Robila Syracuse Universitv Richard B. Miller Brigham Young University /nmolvlement offront-line clinicians in clinical studies is crucialfor qualitv marriage and family therapy effectiv eness research. To identifv common barriers to clinical research, 326 clinical members of the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy from three geographically diverse states wvere asked to describe their willingness to participate in a hypothetical research project. Tlerapists cited time constraints, outside limitations, client concerns, and a lack of understanding about and imnolveement in the study as major reasons for refusal to participate. Recommendationsfor building collaborativerelationships between clinicians and researchers as wt-ell asf Jittre research are addressed. Traditional clinical research in controlled settings has provided invaluable evidence for the legitimization, specifically licensure and reimbursability. of the marriage and family therapy field (Sandberg, et al.. 1997). Unfortunately, this research therapy "bears little resemblance to the actual practice of [MFT and] ... has had little. if any, impact on" the day to day work of most MFTs (Pinsof & Wynne, 2000, pp. 1-2). Therefore. the research needs of today have moved toward scientific investigation that can demonstrate the practicality and cost effectiveness of MFT in the "real world" with clients with varied and complex problems (Doherty. 1997. p. 5). This type of real world research is commonly referred to as 'effectiveness research' and has the potential to both build the profession of MFT and influence clinical practice. THE GAP BETWEEN CLINICAL PRACTICE AND CLINICAL RESEARCH Although there is an inherent link between clinical practice and clinical research, the long-standing separation between the two is well documented (Sprenkle & Moon, 1996). Both researchers and therapists have speculated as to the cause of the gap. For example, some clinicians have stated that the majority of research is irrelevant to clinical practice (Cohen, Sargent. & Sechrest, 1986), that a systems perspective is Jonathan G. Sandberg. Department of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), Syracuse University; Lee N. Johnson, MFT Program. Friends University: Mihaela Robila, Child and Family Studies Program, Syracuse University; Richard B. Miller, MFT Program. Bfigham Young University. Lee N. Johnson is now at MFT Program, University of Georgia. Special thanks to the Utah. Kansas. and New York. Associations for Marriage and Family Therapy for the help in the recruitment of participants. Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Jonathan G. Sandberg. Department of Marriage and Family Therapy. 008 Slocum Hall. Syracuse University. Syracuse. NY 13244-1250. Email: jgsandbe@syr.edu. JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY January 2002 61