Possibilities and limits of training in medical psychotherapy within an interdisciplinary cooperation

In Switzerland as a rule a first main accent of the training as a psychotherapist with medical background takes place during the years between qualifying as an MD and obtaining the specialization certificate as a psychiatrist. These years are usually spent in institutions in which the obligation to serve the population ranks higher than to provide a training for psychotherapists. With the increasing number of doctors in free practice, including medical psychotherapists, the patients treated in institutions are those who need guidance provided by a pluridisciplinary team of professionals with different backgrounds. This is not only the case for inpatient units specialized in psychotherapy but also for psychiatric wards in general. More and more psychiatric services are being established in the field between the psychiatric clinic and the private practice of psychotherapists, in the form of day-care units or teams working in the community or in liaison psychiatry within the units of the somatic disciplines. The everyday situation of a resident on the way to becoming a psychotherapist consists in trying to treat patients by psychological means and methods together with other doctors, psychologists, social workers and nurse therapists who understand at least their attitude as a psychotherapeutic one. In my view this way of working is practised more and more. Can it be taken as a part of the training of psychotherapists or not? I think yes, because many abilities which are part of basic psychotherapy can continually be trained in such a setting in which the critical attitudes of representatives of other disciplines have stimulating effects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)