Psychotherapy for personal growth: Current state

ETCHEBARNE, IGNACIO; ROUSSOS, ANDRÉS; ANGUS, LYNN; DERUBEIS, ROBERT; DE LA PARRA, GUILLERMO; KORMAN, GUIDO PABLO

Philadelphia

Congreso; 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychoterapy Research; 2015

Society for Psychotherapy Research

Psychotherapists in Argentina have a longstanding tradition of providing psychological treatment for patients who wish to better understand themselves, find purpose in life and/or improve their quality of life; i.e., looking for positive changes that will promote a sense of personal growth and accomplishment. Usually, these patients do not meet full criteria for DSM diagnoses and can present varying degrees of clinical suffering. Likewise, when they do meet DSM diagnostic criteria (for example, an Anxiety Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, etc.) they usually continue in therapy even after achieving full remission, since patients` and therapists` shared view of psychotherapy is not restricted to "recovery". Within this view, therapists tend to provide personalized "mixes" of psychological interventions and approaches to meet the specific needs of their patients. Even though this is a widely accepted practice in Argentina that transcends therapists` clinical and theoretical framework (i.e., it isn`t limited to client centered or existential/humanistic approaches), little has been formally studied about the nature and effects of this practice and it`s differential characteristics (if there are any) with current psychotherapeutic approaches. Also, it is unclear whether it represents a strictly Argentinian trend, a Latin-American practice or if it is a worldwide phenomenon with differing denominations and providers. Within this structured discussion, two clinical cases from expert Argentinian psychotherapists will be presented as a starting point for the discussion.