Abstract

Psychotherapy is the treatment of psychological illness by purely psychological methods.

This form of treatment is complex involving a number of techniques. It is affected by a number of variable and ill-defined factors whose effects are difficult to quantify (Davies, 1972).

In the opinion of the author a major factor in treatment is the doctor patient relationship which is here described as the therapeutic relationship. The therapeutic relationship is of necessity modified by the society within which it operates. The Service social situation imposes its own specific modifications on the relationship. These modifications affect the psychotherapeutic relationships of all Service doctors and not just the specialist psychotherapists.