VERHALTENSTHERAPIE (VT)

Abstract

In the discussion concerning which psychotherapeutic methods should come under the auspices of the medical health system in West Germany, the question is raised regarding the behavioral therapy. Can it be considered a distinct psychotherapeutic method? A review of the scientific literature in this area shows that 'behavioral therapy' includes a conglomerate of therapeutic procedures which have no common basis either in theory or in practical application. These therapeutic procedures are usually pragmatic and symptom-orientated, many of them never having been sufficiently tested in experiments or in clinical application. Before behavioral therapy can be included as a legitimate therapeutic method, it is necessary first to establish a catalogue of acceptable procedures. Psychologists working as behavioral therapists must be required to go through thorough training in their own special field as well as basic training in the mental health sciences comparable to that of psychotherapists with a medical background.