[Changes in clinically relevant goals and therapy outcome: a study with inpatients undergoing cognitive behavioral...

According to the consistency theory clinically relevant goals, as explicated by Grosse Holtforth and Grawe, play a prominent role in the development, maintenance and therapy of psychological disorders. Thus effective psychotherapies should "normalize" the subjective importance of these goals. These changes should be positively associated with the success of psychotherapy. To test these assumptions, clinically relevant goals of 64 inpatients undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy were assessed by the Inventory of Approach and Avoidance Goals (German: Fragebogen zur Analyse motivationaler Schemata, FAMOS) before and after therapy. Results show effects of normalization, as expected, especially on scales associated with psychopathology in former studies.