Process-Based Therapy (PBT) is not a new method of psychotherapy, but rather an innovative model for integrating existing psychotherapeutic approaches. It is based on the identification and modification of psychological processes. The core principles of Process-Based Therapy are:
1. Network theory and evolutionary psychology as a foundation: Human experience and behavior are understood as emerging from a dynamic network of interacting psychological processes, shaped by their interrelations and oriented toward adapting to contextual demands.
2. Personalized, empirical assessment: The individually derived network model is empirically examined in the context of daily life (e.g., through Ecological Momentary Assessment).
3. Personalized treatment planning: Treatment decisions are guided by idiographic (i.e., case-specific) information about the structure of the individual’s network, as well as by nomothetic (i.e., research-based) knowledge about the active mechanisms of interventions.
4. Process-based therapy guidance: Changes in the individual network are continuously tracked in everyday life, and adaptive change processes are deliberately supported through targeted therapeutic interventions.
5. Therapeutic relationship design: The therapeutic alliance is the result of interaction processes between client and therapist. Together, they form a system based on the ongoing interplay of their idiographic networks, which is continuously monitored and empirically informed.