Behavior therapy with children and adolescents beyond disease orientation

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that behavior therapy with ch ildren and adolescents is clearly different from psychotherapy with adults and that exactly those differences require therapeutic procedures which go beyond a disease-oriented approach. Psychotherapy with children and adolesc ents is highly influenced by the eminent development in childhood and youth , by the high degree of dependence on other persons and by the specific env ironment of children. These factors have an effect on the psychotherapeutic process as a whole, including the establishment of the therapeutic relatio n as well as the therapy motivation, diagnosis, determination of goals, sel ection and realization of the therapeutic interventions and the evaluation of the therapeutic progress.