There are reports of clinical trials that seem to show that one
approach to psychotherapy outperforms another. When numbers of such
reports are combined and include work done by different therapists at
different sites, the differences between psychotherapy techniques
seems to wash away.
Psychotherapy does work. That much is now very clear. The
effectiveness of psychotherapy does not seem to depend on the nuts
and bolts that are peculiar to the various competing therapies. If
anything, there are factors common to all psychotherapy procedures
that account for their effectiveness.
The quality of the relationship between the patient and the
psychotherapist may be the common factor that unites all types of
psychotherapy. Some of the elements of a good psychotherapy
relationship include:
a. A confidential relationship with a person who is designated as
"the Therapist."
b. A setting that is clearly identified in which psychotherapy is
done, "the time" and "the place."
c. The therapist must help the patient to develop a plausible
rationale that explains the patient's difficulties and points to a
way out of the jam.
d. A set of routines or procedures that requires the active and
earnest participation of the therapist and the patient.
Confidentiality, setting, plausibility, participation
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