Differential Psychotherapy Outcome among Depressed and Impulsive Patients as a Function of Analytic and Experiential Treatment Procedures

Assessment of five psychotherapy procedures, broadly representing experiential and analytical orientations, was undertaken with two groups of clinic outpatients. The patient groups were similar in the length of treatment received, degree of psychological disturbance present, and the frequency with which they were exposed to each of the treatment procedures. Both therapist and external raters assessed the patients' improvement on target symptoms and global change measures at the conclusion of treatment. The results suggest a clear superiority of experiential treatment procedures across patient groups. However, analytic treatments achieved their greatest effect among depressive anxious patients and their least effect among impulsive externalizing patients.