This study investigated the factorial structure of changes concomitant with client-centered therapy. Most of the variables were differences obtained by subtracting the pretherapy scores from the corresponding posttherapy scores of each of 93 clients. The 1st 4 factors seem to reflect: change in favorableness of client self-evaluation, change in adequacy ratings based on the TAT, therapist's perception of change, and change on Hs and Hy from the MMPI. The 5th factor was length of therapy. Of these orthogonal factors, the 1st 4 are seen as method factors, each being associated primarily with an observer-instrument combination. As measured, the changes associated with short psychotherapy cannot be adequately represented by a single global rating or by scores for personality traits denned either broadly or narrowly.
In a recent publication, Seeman (9) has reported that age is unrelated to rated success in client-centered psychotherapy, that women tend to be rated more successful than men (p < .05),-and that there is a trend in favor of longer cases: ". . . shorter cases spanned the entire range of success ratings from 1 to 9, while the longer cases were judged to fall on two high points of the scale (points 7 and 8)" (9, p. 105).Differences between the sexes and between case lengths, if confirmed, would clearly have important implications for both the theory and the practice of psychotherapy. In Seeman's study, all therapists were males. If it were shown that clients tend to be more succussful with a therapist of the opposite sex, such a finding would suggest that successful therapy depends to some extent upon the establishment of a satisfactory heterosexual relationship. It would also suggest that, where there is the possibility of choice, female clients should see only male counselors, and perhaps also that male clients should see only female counselors.The question, "how long does therapy take?," is an important one for therapists no less than for clients. It is also important scientifically. There may be individual differences among clients. Indeed, the difference between a client with mainly situational problems and one with problems of personal adjustment has long been thought to have a bearing on the length of therapy.
An attempt to predict change in psychotherapy. Criteria included composite raw and residual gain scores based on factor analyses. Predictors included pretherapy scores on the criterion dimensions and on other variables. Intercorrelations within each set of criteria were generally low although some were significant. The few significant correlations between predictors and criteria did not reveal any systematic pattern except for pairs of variables derived from the same rater or shared sources of data. For clients at a university counseling center, raw or residual gains over relatively short psychotherapy are so specific to the given method that they are difficult or impossible to predict from measures based on independent methods.
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