'Psychotherapy' is a nebulous term with widely different connotations.

Anyone embarking on training in psychotherapy will find themselves faced with a bewildering range of possible therapies from which to choose. Which treatments are effective?

What theories underlie a particular treatment method?

What techniques are used in a particular treatment? In what circumstances is a particular treatment appropriate? In what circumstances is it inappropriate? In the past thirty years, Sidney Bloch's Introduction to the Psychotherapies has established itself as the leading introductory text to the field.

In short, accessible chapters by leading practitioners, it outlines the leading therapies, noting for each one the definitions, aims, assessment, and practice, coupled with the essential references. For the 4th edition, the chapters have been extensively revised and updated, taking into account the developments in the 10 years since publication of the 3rd edition.

Chapters have been added on research in psychotherapy, cognitive-analytic psychotherapy, the conversational model and psychotherapy with older adults and on a rather different note, a chapter setting the psychotherapies in an historical context. This book will remain the core text for undergraduate students in psychology, who are considering training in clinical psychology, along with anyone in the fields of mental health and general medicine looking for an accessible overview of this huge and often confusing field.