IF THE PATIENT AND THERAPIST HAVE DIFFERE NT OPINIONS - DISCREPANCIESIN THE JUDGMENT OF CHANGE

The following study concerns the interaction of different measures for therapeutic change. 1377 inpatients of a psychosomatic hospital were examined. Measures for change were the subjective global rating of the inpatient, the subjective global rating the psychotherapist, and the Symptom-Check-List SCL-90-R. To get additional information for possibl e predictive variables for discrepant judgements, also personality que stionnaires and sociodemographic variables were considered. Results de monstrated only medium correlations between subjective ratings for cha nge of the patient and the psychotherapist, although the same categori es were used (R = 0,44). The correlations to measures of change of the self-rating-scales are even lower. Therefore we conclude that these m easures focus to different information, because the common part of var iance is low. Discrepances between the judgement of therapists and pat ients can be found after all when the patient makes a negative rating. Predictive variables for discrepances of the judgements for change of the psychotherapists and patients are: age, sex, phobic anxiety and b odily complaints. While younger patients tend to make better judgement s than their therapists we find the contrary for elder patients. Women tend to make better judgements than their psychotherapists. We find a lso discrepances in patients with multiple syndromes, when phobic anxi ety and bodily complaints exist and are perhaps not adequatly concerne d in the psychotherapy.