Support in psychotherapy: A common factor in need of empirical data, conceptual clarification, and clinical input

This article serves as an introduction to a series of contributions on the role and nature of therapist support in psychoanalytic, existential-humanistic, and cognitive therapies. Although support has been recognized as an important factor of change in these approaches, many questions remained to be answered regarding the form and impact of this therapeutic variable across different modes of therapy. This series addresses several of these questions by providing specific definitions of the concept of support, empirical observations of supportive interventions, and clinical illustrations of the use and impact of such interventions. Similarities and differences among the three perspectives on support are discussed in a concluding article.