Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes a general discussion of principles and methods of research as they are applied to investigations of psychotherapy. It aims to present a perspective and posture on controversial issues surrounding research in psychotherapy and to provide a framework against which new research can be gauged. The book reviews existing research on the effects of psychotherapy and the determinants and correlates of outcome are clustered. It deals with a large body of research on various factors associated with therapeutic outcome—method, style, and technique variables; patient, therapist, and time variables. The book argues that research on aspects of the therapeutic process and on the effect of these same variables on the therapeutic interchange as distinct from the outcome of therapy. It discusses the research on various therapeutic phenomena and conditions, about which so much has been written and so little really known.