Combined treatments tend to produce better results than either treatment used alone, especially for certain types of patients. For example, Gerard Hogarty and his colleagues found that persons who have schizophrenia clearly benefit when family therapy is combined with medication. The combined treatment cut their relapse rate in half. Luborsky and his colleagues also found a few other unique instances of notable efficacy when a specific type of therapy was matched with a specific type of patient. Panic attacks, for example, appear to respond best to cognitive therapy that focuses on the patient's faulty catastrophic interpretations of physical symptoms.
Mild phobias appear to respond better to behavior therapy.
By and large, though, the different forms of psychotherapy produce roughly the same effects on most patients. No one knows for sure why there are so few differences, but we can speculate that common components of psychotherapy may play a major role. They also provide new ways of thinking about problems. In general, many forms of therapy appear equally effective. But there is still much research to be done to maximize the benefits of therapy by finding the best match between specific therapeutic approaches and individual patient characteristics and needs.