Abstract

Individual and group psychotherapy¹ try to improve symptoms indirectly by providing insight together with affective experience involving a close relationship, or by dealing with conflicts thought to underly the symptoms. The behavioural therapies, some of which are based on principles derived from learning theory, are intended to treat patients’ symptoms directly by psychological means; they differ widely in technique and in clinical indications. Whatever the specific method used, it is intended to modify a limited aspect of the patient’s disorder, such as nocturnal enuresis,² and is only a part of the total clinical management.