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In Their Textbook of current psychotherapies, Hall and Lindzey (12) list 15 major theoretical orientations. Corsini (7) lists 24; Maddi (21) lists 26. These do not include some of the newer body therapies, hypnotherapies, group therapies, or more radical types of theoretical perspectives. Yet each one of these therapies purports to describe a ‘theory’ and has practitioners or followers who use that approach.
The issues that are raised by this multiplicity of theoretical approaches are addressed by Herron (13) when he points out that the initial problem is one of defining what a theory of psychotherapy is, given the confusion that results when therapeutic approach, school of psychology, therapeutic system, and the method employed by the therapist are intertwined. Barron (1) points out that this proliferation of theoretical orientations may be indicative of limitations in our facts to account for the variability of theory or that there may be more than one truth.
Research by Meltzoff and Kornreich (26) indicates that there are differences in the conceptualisation and emphasis of therapeutic problems between therapists as a function of theoretical adherence. Similar findings were reported by Brunink and Schroeder (5), Diehm (8), Fey (9), Kreitman (18), Lakin and Lebovits, Lang, Strupp (29, 30), and Sundland and Barker (33).
The issue of homogeneity within a theoretical orientation has been primarily addressed by the psychoanalytic school. There are conflicting findings which may be due in part to the variety of assessment instruments used and also to the different methodological foci of the studies. Strupp found a consistent similarity between orthodox and neo-Freudians on their responses to a clinical judgment situation. This