BERN INVENTORY OF TREATMENT GOALS: PART 1. Development and First Application of a Taxonomy of Treatment Goal Themes.

The taxonomy of treatment goal themes of the Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals (BIT-T) is presented. The taxonomy was developed using 1,031 treatment goals of 298 outpatients at a university clinic. A first version of the taxonomy was constructed by cluster-analyzing eo-occurrence values computed from categorizations made by 22 therapists. Iterative revisions after several rating trials resulted in BIT-T Version 3.1. Categories at the highest of three levels of abstraction are coping with specific problems and symptoms (P), interpersonal goals (I), well-being and functioning (W), existential issues (E), and personal growth (G). In (re-)coding an extended sample of outpatient treatment goals, the BIT-T proved to have a good interrater reliability, identified differences between diagnostic groups, and showed meaningful relations to standardized intake measures. Applications of the taxonomy for research and practice purposes as well as possible consequences of the obtained first results are discussed.