Life, complexity, and psychotherapy: A systemic perspective on the elusive construct of extra-therapeutic factors.

Study Aims: Despite being mentioned in well-known models of psychotherapeutic change, the concept of extra-therapeutic factors seems to have left the scene across time, eaten away by the progressive refinement of the construct of common factors. Aim of the present study is to better understanding the historical evolution of the concept of extra-therapeutic factors and its importance for psychotherapy today.

Methods: This is a position paper based on a literature review on extra-therapeutic factors and psychotherapy outcome and process.