Test of the Phase Model of Psychotherapy in a Training Clinic

Recent publications suggest that psychotherapy models generated in outpatient settings do not fully generalize to the training clinic. A possible explanation for these findings is that the nature in which change occurs during psychotherapy may actually differ according to setting. To examine this possibility, the phase model of psychotherapy was tested in an outpatient training clinic. Results partially support the phase model, suggesting that the nature of change during effective psychotherapy within the training clinic setting does not differ from that in other outpatient settings. That is, clients who completed effective courses of treatment in the training clinic environment generally experience an improvement in subjective well-being before evidencing a reduction in symptom distress. Obtaining success in role performances (i.e., work or school) appears to emerge last. Practitioners may enhance treatment outcomes by targeting interventions that are congruent with the phase of the individual client presenting for treatment.