A review of language analysis systems employed in psychotherapy research suggests a typology based on the combination of three category types with two coding strategies. The types are (a) content categories, (b) intersubjective categories, and (c) extralinguistic categories. They are denned by distinct sets of language features. The coding strategies are (a) the classical coding strategy, in which categories describe the text, and (b) the pragmatic coding strategy, in which categories describe the speaker. A review of research results suggests that the content, intersubjective, and extralinguistic features constitute distinct channels of communication and that (a) the content channel carries information pertaining to the speaker's psychodynamic process and personality structure, (b) the intersubjective channel carries information pertaining to the quality of the speaker's relationship with the other, and (c) the extralinguistic channel carries information pertaining to the speaker's transitory emotional state. System consistency criteria are suggested for use in conjunction with the typology to evaluate categories and category systems.If the first stage in the scientific study of a phenomenon is naming and classifying, the study of verbal behavior in psychotherapy is mired in its first stage. Reviews of the psychotherapy content analysis literature (Auld