Psychotherapy has a long historical development, with a rich stock of theoretical concepts, tried and tested interventions, and clinical and scientific evidence. It is also constantly undergoing further evolution and differentiation. In the process, developmental contexts and solid knowledge may also occasionally be forgotten or ?rediscovered= using new terms, so that it is difficult to consolidate any overarching ?core knowledge= in psychotherapy. The purpose of this book is to present the current state of theory development and practice in relation to the four main psychotherapeutic procedures in the context of their historical development& and this may also counteract any occasional ?forgetting of history=. This is not a history book, however, but an up-to-date textbook that provides an overview of the foundations of psychotherapy across different procedures and schools.

Prof. Bernhard Strauss, qualified psychologist, psychological psychotherapist, Director of the Institute for Psychosocial Medicine and Psychotherapy in Friedrich Schiller University, Jena. Prof. Mark Galliker, Institute of Psychology at the University of Bern, pca.acp/FSP conversational psychotherapist. Emeritus Prof. Michael Linden, qualified psychologist, specialist in neurology, psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy, psychological psychotherapist, Director of the Psychosomatic Rehabilitation Research Group at Charité& Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Prof. Jochen Schweitzer, qualified psychologist, Associate Professor at the Institute of Medical Psychology, Ruprecht Karl University, Heidelberg, Deputy Director of the Institute, Director of the Medical Organizational Psychology Section.