Back to basics: Psychotherapy is an interpersonal process

Abstract

Although psychotherapy has been found to be effective for a wide variety of conditions, there is considerable disagreement about the specific mechanisms that produce positive outcomes, and this disagreement has resulted in a variety of training methodologies. Various researchers have emphasized therapist variables, specific therapeutic systems, or the therapeutic alliance as the primary reason for beneficial effects from participation in psychotherapy. There is convincing evidence for conceptualizing psychotherapy as a reciprocal influence process that includes therapist variables and specific intervention systems within the context of a therapeutic alliance. Several recommendations are made for training practitioner-psychologists, which include (a) a focus on how to manage the interpersonal process, (b) developing strategies to avoid negative effects, and (c) an open and flexible approach to the use of a variety of therapeutic systems.