Process and outcome in psychotherapy and behavior therapy

Three behavior therapists and 3 analytically oriented psychotherapists treated a total of 60 neurotic outpatients for 4 mo. Data were collected as part of a larger study by R. B. Sloane et al (1975). Measures of Rogers-Truax (C. B. Truax and K. M. Mitchell, 1971) factors, nonlexical speech characteristics, therapist informational specificity, and a content analysis of therapist activity were taken from recordings of the 5th interview. Therapists rated their feelings toward their patients, and patients completed the Relationship Questionnaire and rated therapists on an inventory by M. Lorr . In psychotherapy, patients who were most liked by their therapists and those with greater total speech time showed greatest symptomatic improvement. Patients who used longer average speech durations improved most in both treatments. It is concluded that patient improvement was more a function of patient characteristics than of specific therapist interventions. (16 ref)