Changes in patient- and therapist-rated process items, and patient-rated sy
mptom severity assessed over a maximum of 30 sessions of psychodynamic or c
ognitive-behavioral psychotherapy were compared in an outpatient mental-hea
lth clinic. Patients' ratings in psychodynamic psychotherapy on two of the
process items were superior to ratings by patients in cognitive-behavioral
therapy, and interactions with time were discovered for an interpersonal it
em. Comparisons between patients who reported their initial symptom severit
ies as most severe and those with less severe symptoms also were made, with
results indicating differential effects of treatment according to percepti
ons of symptom severity. interactions between length of stay in treatment a
nd number of sessions also were investigated. Findings indicated that patie
nts benefit from psychotherapy over lime and support the usefulness of a co
ntextual model for psychotherapy funding. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.