Abstract

This study is a part of "International Study of the Development of Psychotherapists" which is a large scale multinational, collaborative research effort designed to study the professional development of psychotherapists(Orlinsky et al., in press, a). The stud specifically explores the difficulties in therapeutic practice experienced by psychotherapists from six different countries, belgium, France, Germany, Israel, America and Korea. It also examines what kinds of coping strategies these therapists employ when they encounter difficulties in their practice. The data for this study was obtained by using a subset of elements from the Development of Psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire (CCQ). Using factor analysis and analyses of variance, the twenty items surveying "Difficulties in Therapeutic Practice" and Twenty-six items concerning "Coping Strategies" were statistically analized. The results show that there anr some differences in degree as to how therapists from different countries report experiencing difficulties and using coping strategies. American therapists perceive themselves to "Seek an Internal Solution" more than therapists from Germany and Korea. German therapists report "Seeking Relief away from Therapy" more than therapists from America and Korea. Also, Korean therapists report that they tend to "Consider Resigning from Case" more than therapists from Germany and America. Several discussions on the implication of the study is presented.