Assessment of suitability for psychotherapy. I. Introduction and the assessment process

Part I of this paper reviews the value of detailed psychotherapy-suitability assessments using criteria independent of illness severity. False-positive and false-negative determinations of suitability are minimized along with the associated problems. These assessments must be done by psychotherapists, and they typically take several sessions. An assessment process based on three components--diagnosis and the traditional history, creation of a model of the patient's psychopathology, and the use suitability criteria (reviewed in detail in part II)--is described. The value of diagnosis is discussed using the two most common ones of depression and personality disorder, along with the implications for the prescription of psychotherapy.