Psychotherapy: past training and current practice.

Abstract

Our 1988 survey of Texas psychiatrists indicates that hospital work is more common, and long-term psychotherapy less common than it had been in the 1982 APA survey. Almost 85% reported long-term psychotherapy experience as residents. Thirty-nine percent reported multiple patients treated for approximately 2 years. Use of audio techniques by resident and teacher in the post-1970-trained group predicted current long-term therapy activity as did an experience of personal therapy and seeing a patient at least twice weekly in training. Concurrent drug use is widely reported for long-term psychotherapy patients and to a lesser degree in psychoanalysis. Our data suggest a shift to increased hospital work and decreased long-term psychotherapy.