PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC CHANGE AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT - A REPORT OF A NATIONAL SURVEY OF PSYCHOTHERAPISTS

1200 psychotherapists described by means of Gough's Adjective Check List (1) themselves, (2) the type of patient with whom they work best (preferred), (3) a patient who has received maximum benefit from treatment (cured), and (4) a person with satisfactory adaptation to himself and his environment (normal). Despite the heterogeneity of the sample, there was a remarkably high level of agreement among therapists in their descriptions. Therapists felt they work best with a patient who exhibits little pathology, and the successfully treated patient was described in terms of positive social functioning. Therapists did not see the preferred, cured, or normal as similar to themselves. Data suggested an implicit consensus about the goals of psychotherapy and pointed to the salience of a social adjustment criterion in the evaluation of outcome. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.