Abstract

BENETTI, Silvia P. C.  and  CUNHA, Tatiane R. S.. Psychotherapy dropout: implications for the clinical practice. Arq. bras. psicol. [online]. 2008, vol.60, n.2, pp. 48-59. ISSN 1809-5267.

The situations associated to psychotherapy dropout constitute important sources of information about the therapeutic process, allowing a better comprehension of the factors involved in therapeutic efficacy. Besides, they offer resources for the psychotherapists’ technical improvement, mainly in the specific case of training therapists, and for the planning of clinical interventions in mental health services. This way, the objective of this paper is to present the principal contributions of theoretical reviews and of researches about psychotherapy dropout, such as demographic and clinical characteristics of the patient, of the treatment and of institutional practices. In conclusion, this topic is relevant to clinical practice, considering the negative consequences at personal, social and economic domains, pointing to the importance of the development of specific research actions and implementation of protocols geared to prevent early interruption of psychotherapy.

Keywords : Psychotherapy dropout; Clinical Psychology; School-clinic.

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