WHAT PSYCHOTHERAPISTS (DONT) KNOW ABOUT T HEIR PATIENTS LIVES - ACCENTS AND TRENDS

There is a strong interrelation between a person's inner and outer rea lity. This paper examines the biographical content of 274 histories us ing the Gottingen Biographical Inventory (Gottinger Biographie-Inventa r, GBI), which was developed for this purpose. It shows that on averag e, these histories contain a lot of information in particular on the s pecific medical history, the patients' early childhood and their educa tional background. However, the average information content on their p uberty and on those details about their family and their social and fi nancial situation that determine their current status proved to be rat her low. The educational and career background turned out to be record ed more thoroughly the higher a patient's status was.