title: Toward a quantitative characterization of patient-therapist communication.
abstract: The efficacy of psychotherapy, in its many and varied forms, is one of the most intensely contested issues in clinical practice. Though many theories have been advanced, quantitative evidence in their defense is limited. This contribution is directed to relatively unambitious objectives. Rather than establish yet another qualitative theory of psychotherapeutic practice, we wish to contribute to the construction of research methodologies that can quantitatively characterize the dynamic patterns of patient-therapist communication. It is hoped that a theoretical understanding of psychotherapy might eventually emerge naturally from a growing body of quantitative data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Rapp
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Montano
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Langs
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Mees
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy