Presents a brief statement of essential conditions for psychotherapeutic change: (a) a helping relationship patterned after the parent-child relationship; (b) the creation of a power base from which the therapist influences the client through common psychological techniques; and (c) a client who has the capacity to profit from the experience.…

The utility of employing elevated scores on the Depression and Psychasthenia scales of the MMPI as an indicator of a genuine, enduring clinical problem was investigated for a male college student population. Pilot data suggest that MMPI scale scores decrease following psychotherapy but not with the passage of time alone. (Author)

While formal definitions of "psychotherapy' have been notoriously elusive, there appears to be general agreement that it involves a professional relationship between a person seeking help for an emotional or behavior problem and a professional who is recognized by society as possessing a certain expertise. An important concomitant of this…