ABSTRACT

Volume 7 in the EFPP Series that aims to promote the pan-European community of psychoanalytic psychotherapists. The contributors come from different cultures but are united in their view of the importance of empirical research in psychotherapy. The chapters examine issues as varied as treatment of eating disorders, the differences between psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, treatment outcomes of group psychotherapy, and treatment of borderline personality disorders.'In the present-day culture of evidence-based practice as a guiding principle for the delivery of public and private-sector health services, the critical importance of collating empirical research findings relating to psychoanalytic psychotherapy cannot be overstated. Evidence-based clinical guidelines are increasingly finding their way into the mental health arena and, as of yet, the place of psychoanalytic psychotherapy within such guidelines is far from extensive. The present monograph brings together a number of research reports and overviews, all of which have used conventional empirical research methodologies and illustrate, we believe, the potential of such methods to explore questions of real significance to psychoanalytic psychotherapists throughout Europe.