Psychotherapy Process - Current Issues and Future Directions

Mahoney, Michael (Ed)

ISBN 10: 0306402440 / ISBN 13: 9780306402449

Published by Plenum Press, NY & London, 1980

About this Item

Presents "contemporary views of the major assumptions underlying the process of psychotherapy", adding to the "growing body of research on psychotherapy process". With several contributing authors. Dust jacket has edgechips; extensive ink underlining within.

Seller Inventory # 015378

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Psychotherapy Process - Current Issues and Future Directions
• Publisher: Plenum Press, NY & London
• Publication Date: 1980
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0306402440
• ISBN 13: 9780306402449
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Book Type: Book
• Seller catalogs:
  • Psychiatry

About this title

Synopsis

Whatever else it may be, psychotherapy offers a clear form of human com­ passion channeled through myriad assumptions about the causes and solu­ tions of human distress. There has, of course, been a longstanding debate about whether the psychotherapist is best described (and trained) as an artisan or a scientist. Volumes of scholarly argument have also addressed such themes as the essential ingredients of psychotherapy, the role of tech­ nique, the importance of client characteristics, and the significance of the therapist's personality. Experts have defended a wide range of opinions on these issues and have mustered evidence to support their individual claims. The purpose of the present volume is neither to defend nor to expand any specific claim about psychotherapy. Rather, it is intended to be a heuristic compendium of contemporary views on this humane endeavor. At the most basic level of analysis, the field of psychotherapy research now faces three fundamental questions: 1. Is psychotherapy effective? 2. When and why is it effective? 3. How should psychotherapists be trained? The latter two questions obviously presume that the first can be answered affirmatively. Although I would hardly defend the generalization that all forms of psychotherapy are effective for all clients, it is equally clear that there is now ample warrant for the contention that some of the things we do in our fifty-minute hours seem to have positive effects.