Jerome Frank

American psychotherapist

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

Jerome D. Frank was an American psychiatrist known for his classification of psychotherapies into "religio-magical" and "empirico-scientific" categories. He noted that both approaches often share similar underlying processes, and that various scientific psychotherapies have common factors contributing to their effectiveness. Frank's work emphasized that the shared beliefs between therapist and patient, whether spiritual or scientific, play a significant role in the therapeutic process. His perspective highlights the commonalities in how different forms of psychotherapy achieve results, focusing on the psychological techniques used to treat mental disorders and adjustment problems.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

5 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

mental disorder
The psychotherapies
American psychiatrist Jerome D. Frank classified psychotherapies into “religio-magical” and “empirico-scientific” categories, with religio-magical approaches relying on the shared beliefs of the therapist and patient in spiritual or other supernatural processes or powers. This article is concerned, however, with the latter forms of psychotherapy—those that have been…
Read More
American psychiatrist Jerome D. Frank classified psychotherapies into “religio-magical” and “empirico-scientific” categories, with religio-magical approaches relying on the shared beliefs of the therapist and patient in spiritual or other supernatural processes or powers. This article is concerned, however, with the latter forms of psychotherapy—those that have been…
Read More