RT Journal
A1 HANDLER JS
T1 PSychotherapy and medical responsibility
JF A.M.A. Archives of General Psychiatry
JO A.M.A. Archives of General Psychiatry
YR 1959
FD November 1
VO 1
IS 5
SP 464
OP 468
DO 10.1001/archpsyc.1959.03590050032002
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1959.03590050032002
AB “But all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.”1“If psychotherapy is to be considered as any procedure or process which changes behavior or influences an individual towards a more adequate or satisfactory adjustment to his environment or encourages peace of mind, then its roots reach back into prehistoric ages.”2 The term itself is of more recent origin, first used by Reil in 1803.3 In its broader sense, as above, psychotherapy is not strictly a medical discipline and is obviously the common professional property also of the clergy, teachers, social workers, and psychologists (I believe I am naming them in order of their numerical prominence, not necessarily implying any scientific rank order), and there need be no ghost from the grave to tell us this. A question arises, however, if we use as a more cogent definition: “Psychotherapy is a planned tech