WELCOME TO TREATMENT MAPS®

Treatment Maps® organize psychotherapeutic information to match the process of treatment, as it is actually carried out with patients. The objective is to represent the steps that an expert would follow in working with a patient who has the symptoms the map addresses.

A Treatment Map consists of a set of flow charts, their associated text, and the relationship between the two forms of information.

CONTENTS OF THIS SITE
This site offers several innovations in the ways that psychotherapy recommendations are collected, organized and used. It is assumed that…
• Treatment is ongoing and incremental.
• Choices are part of the treatment process.
• Treatment choices and therapeutic interventions interact with each other.
• Any representation of the overall process should match the process itself, as closely as possible, for a wide range of patients.
• Different treatment paths should be suggested for different patients.

Think of a Treatment Map as an online textbook covering a range of therapeutic issues, in which the process of treatment is the organizing principle. It is a guide to the kinds of treatment available for the patient you are currently working with. It is intended to help you focus your clinical intuition and insight within a range of maximum effectiveness, and move on to another step of treatment when you decide the time is right.

EXAMPLE TREATMENT MAPS
You can have a look at four different maps by following these links:
Working with an alcoholic patient.
Working with an anxious patient.
Working with a Depressed patient.
Starting with a new patient.

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
At the same time, this site is based on the premises that…
• Our understanding of the process of therapy is incomplete, but it is constantly being updated. Our resources should incorporate new information as it becomes available.
• Ongoing input from other mental health professionals is essential in order to expand the range of issues covered and the accuracy and completeness of the maps. Other professionals are invited to participate in making the site more useful to us all.

For more about this site, see the dropdown menu under Site Overview. For more about the maps, see About Treatment Maps on this site, or go to the companion site, Treatment Maps Interactive.  To see examples of using the Maps to work with alcoholic patients, see Three Cases.

The information contained in this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional consultations, diagnosis or treatment. See Disclaimer for more information.