Sistematización de intervenciones psicoterapéuticas: La percepción de cambio del paciente adicto en función de las intervenciones del terapeuta

the aim of the present research is to introduce operational procedures to the process of psychotherapy in the case of addiction patients. the underpinning premise is that when session actions are devised and strategically oriented to generate change in the behavior of the consultant the effects in the behavior of the consultant as well as in his/ her perception of the process of change evolve positively. the therapist's interventions during four sessions with nine patients in outpatient treatment for substance abuse were systematized. in addition the patients were presented with a questionnaire concerning self-perceived goal achievement (cuestionario de autopercepción de los avances logrados (ilop)), before and after the four systematized sessions. in accordance with the description of the psychotherapeutic processes of the cases involved psychotherapy was organized in four phases that respond to different attitudes of the consultant, and thereby require specific interventions: initial phase (diagnostic/motivational), intermediate phase (elaboration/action), advanced intermediate phase (strengthening) and final phase (follow-up). the psychotherapy phases would respond to two levels of simultaneous interventions: an operational level that aims at attenuating immediate harm as consequence of consumption, and the structural level that deals with the problem as a whole in all its complexity, with objectives formulated for the mid and long term. the study includes the categorization and description of the interventions that the therapist implemented during the four sessions of the nine cases, obtaining as a result, a detailed list with the description of each one, organized according to the phases proposed. micro theories grounded on these cases were developed, which respond to the relation existing between the therapist′s intervention, the effect of self-perceived change and the phase in the process in which the patient actually stands.