The disorder-oriented approach focuses on both general as well as specific efficacy of psychotherapy for psychiatric disorders. In the recent past, however, specific psychotherapies for psychiatric disorders have been developed on the basis of certain criteria of evidence based medicine. Following the assumption that each psychiatric disorder requires a specific intervention strategy, the concept of a disorder-specific psychotherapy was established in accordance with the international classification systems. Currently, most of the successful concepts for treatment of psychiatric disorders consist of a combination of pharmacotherapy and disorder specific psychotherapy depending on the stage of the disease. In addition, the development of psychotherapy is influenced by the increasing research in the field of neurobiology. Future research will provide further evidence of differentiated structural and functional changes in the brain with regard to disorder-oriented psychotherapy.