ABSTRACT
We have argued in this chapter that psychiatric and psychological approaches to treatment are based on the assumptions and value judgments of theorists and clinicians which, in turn, are related to the social and political influences of the time. Following Rychlak (1968), we have distinguished between introspective and extraspective approaches to treatment. We have argued that small group psychotherapy, with its emphasis on emotional and personal issues, may be classed generally as introspective. Nevertheless, within this treatment approach, there exists 154a wide range of underlying assumptions, some closer to the extraspective end. By contrast, the assumptions underlying behaviour therapy show typical extraspective features, where the treatment is based on reductionist, mechanistic principles and conducted in an objective, impersonal manner. The ultimate value of these assumptions for therapeutic transactions, we maintain, depends on the extent to which they are congruent with the personal adjustment strategies and treatment expectancies of the individual patient.
