Panorama actual de investigación sobre el terapeuta en psicoterapia

Abstract

El propósito de este trabajo es presentar una introducción al estudio del terapeuta en psicoterapia, desde sus antecedentes hasta una visión actual. Para ellos se realizó una revisión sistemática para indagar los siguientes aspectos: el papel del terapeuta en la explicación de resultados, los diseños de investigación actuales y los instrumentos de evaluación específicos.Los resultados discrepan acerca de si el factor que explica mejor los resultados en psicoterapia lo constituyen las variables del terapeuta, o las técnicas específicas o la alianza terapeútica.

The purpose of this review is to present an introduction to the study of the therapist in psychotherapy, from its antecedents to a more current vision. a systematic review was carried out to investigate the following aspects: the role of the therapist in the explanation of outcomes, current research designs, and specific assessment techniques. the results differ as to whether the therapist's variables, the specific techniques or the therapeutic alliance are the factors that best explain the outcomes in psychotherapy. among the therapist´s variables, those indicated as favorable to change are: empathy, flexibility, ability to establish a working alliance and to effectively apply a specific technique, attachment patterns, multicultural competence, training, experience, respect for the patient, optimism, sense of humor, self-questioning ability, interpersonal skills and therapeutic style. the most commonly used evaluation tool is the development of psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire. research designs are recommended to assess not only the relation therapist - outcome, but also the technique applied, the type of pathology presented by therapy.