ABSTRACT
Psychotherapy in the modern sense of the term originated in Europe, then spread throughout most of the continent and expanded to the Americas. Its growth in the United States has been dramatic. By this time, psychotherapy is practiced in all regions of the world. Information about it has, however, been diffused in a highly asymmetrical manner. Over the last 50 years, innovations originating in North America have radiated rapidly across oceans and continents (see chap. 2, this volume, on international perspective on the history of psychology). Specifically, this has been the case with the advent of behavioral and cognitive therapies, humanistic approaches, and psychoanalytic ego psychology. By contrast, only a few advances in theory or techniques from Europe or elsewhere have gained recognition and acceptance in the United States.
