Zum Einfluss der theoretischen orientierung auf die psychotherapeutische Praxis

Having a theoretical orientation is valuable to therapeutic practitioners because it reduces the complexity of the therapeutic situation.A theoretical orientation provides therapists with an essential guide to practice by equipping them with a diagnostic scheme for defining patients' problems, a set of health-related values specifying the goals of treatment, and - not least - with therapeutic techniques for reaching those goals. This article explores the question what impact the therapists' theoretical orientation has on their therapeutic practice in terms of the variables 'treatment goals' and 'Ideal manner of relating to patients.' The data steam from 2376 psychotherapists who filled in the Development of Psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire (CCQ). The findings concerning the treatment goals show many common features and also some distinctive differences between theoretical orientations. On the other hand we find practically no differences between theoretical orientations with regard to the ideal manner of relating to patients. Thus, beyond the gulfs of different theoretical orientations we find a lot of commonalities which give a hint to the importance of non-specific working principles.