[Students' attitudes towards psychotherapy: changes after a course on psychic functions in health and illness].

Objectives: Little is known about the attitude of medical students towards psychotherapy and the influence of lectures on psychotherapy during the medical curriculum on these attitudes.

Methods: 2 years in a row, medical students of the Medical University of Vienna in their fourth academic year were asked regarding their attitudes, connotations and associations towards psychotherapy before and after a 5-week psychotherapeutic course.

Results: The attitudes of the medical students were predominantly positive, while some prejudices could be found.