THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CONCEPTS ABOUT ILLNES S ATTRIBUTION AND TREATMENTEXPECTATIONS IN THE INITIAL CLINICAL INTERVIEW

To evaluate the influence and the consequences of subjective concepts about attribution and treatment expectations of patients and therapist s 56 patients of two psychiatric outpatient departments were examined with the inventory for concepts about illness and the Giessen-Test. In addition biographic data and information of the present problems as w ell the judgement of the therapists were registered. The results show that the subjective concepts of problem attribution and treatment expe ctations correlate with patient variables as personality, social econo mic states, social network, anamnestic data, present problems, previou s therapeutic experience and vocational situation. Some concepts (e.g. psychologically oriented concepts) and the conformity of therapists a nd patients are important predictors of indication, prognosis and outc ome of therapy. Therapists are especially motivated to work with patie nts who have similiar concepts and a similiar social background as the mselves. The concepts of the patients assimilate of those of the thera pists already after a short period of therapy.