| Abstract: | The integration of different theoretical schools in the practice of psychotherapy is a widespread phenomenon, and eclectic therapists make a large part of the subject pool in studies regarding therapeutic approaches. This eclectic trend has its own ideology, and empirical evidence for its efficacy is being investigated. Taking this into account, it seems desirable to study the professional tolerance of therapists toward approaches different from their own. This professional tolerance is investigated in the present study of Israeli psychotherapists holding different theoretical approaches. The vast majority of the subjects chose the psychoanalytic-psychodynamic approach as their preferred theoretical orientation. The therapists' own orientations influenced their selection of the mode of therapy from which they felt most distant (DTM). Thus, most of the psychodynamic therapists chose aversive conditioning and most of the behavioral-cognitive therapists chose classical psychoanalysis (i.e.,  on the couch ) as their DTMs. The readiness of the opponents of classical psychoanalysis to cooperate with an orthodox analyst was significantly higher than the readiness of the opponents of aversive conditioning to cooperate with a therapist identified with this mode of therapy. It is suggested that DTM selection is determined by its extremeness and the orientation of the therapist. The DTM selected determines in turn the therapists' tolerance. |
