ABSTRACT
CUSTOMARILY, one begins a discussion of psychotherapy by proposing a definition. However, in synthesizing the views of experts toward that end, one sees readily that a simple definition of "psychotherapy"-or even a complex one that will meet everyone's criteriais well nigh impossible. Nevertheless, psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, while disagreeing among and between themselves as to just what psychotherapy is, generally agree that it refers broadly to effecting behavioral or personality changes in the direction of more effective adjustment through planned psychological, as opposed to medical, means. At the same time, because the emphasis is on psychological procedures, the opinion is commonly held, even among many professionals, that the term may only be applied legitimately to therapeutic procedures employed by psychiatrists and psychologists. One of the purposes of this chapter is to examine the construct's general relevance to procedures used by a variety of professional disciplines.
