Psychotherapy Relationships That Work: Therapists Contributions and Responsiveness to Patients

Rating:
Summary: An example of what psychotherapy texts should be.
Review: A multitude of studies and meta-analyses indicate that most, if not all, psychotherapy systems are equivalent in efficacy. This repeated finding suggests that emphasis on research and clinical thinking needs to shift toward what psychotherapies have in common, and how interpersonal processes in the psychotherapeutic relationship contribute to outcome.

Most therapy texts seem to ignore these trends, and focus on a particular psychotherapy approach (e.g., CBT, psychodynamic, schema), without recognizing that they are all likely to have similar effect.

This text fills a needed gap by focusing on "common factors" in different psychotherapies, and processes in the therapeutic relationship that contribute to psychotherapeutic efficacy. The chapters base discussion on empirical research findings without neglecting clinical implementation. Discussion is apppropriately focused on the interpersonal processes contributing to outcome, rather than any theory of change per se.

A highly recommended text for anyone seeking to understand the process of what actually happens in the practice of psychotherapy.