Objectives and Outcomes: Questioning the Practice of Therapy

What do clients look for in psychotherapy? Do clients and therapists have the same objectives? Is the outcome what the client or therapist hoped for? This is an essential book for all those who have wondered what the purpose of psychological therapy is, the procedures that are involved and the results that are achieved. The authors are experienced psychotherapists who share their personal experiences of the therapeutic process and question these in the light of relevant research. Practitioners are interested in linking the objectives and outcomes of therapeutic engagement. This book provides a critical assessment of how these links can be used creatively to enhance the effectiveness of their practice, in a variety of settings and contexts. Taking the form of discourse between the authors, the book is accessible to all levels of knowledge and practice. It is enlivened with dialogue, case studies and a mini-research project that was carried out with fellow practitioners in a series of workshops. "Objectives and Outcomes" gives practitioners an overview of current knowledge on these important topics and suggests forms of research that therapists might use in their own work.