Alfred Alder

Co-therapy is a kind of psychotherapy conducted with more than one therapist present. It is different from conjoint therapy, which is psychotherapy conducted with more than one person as the client. For example, family therapy and couples therapy are types of conjoint therapy. A therapy can be conjoint therapy and not co-therapy, or co-therapy and not conjoint therapy, or both co-therapy and conjoint therapy. Co-therapy is especially applied during couple therapy. Carl Whitaker and Virginia Satir are credited as the founders of co-therapy. Co-therapy dates back to the early twentieth century in Vienna, where psychoanalytic practices were first taking place. It was originally named "multiple therapy" by Alfred Alder, and later introduced separately as "co-therapy" in the 1940s. Co-therapy began with two therapists of differing abilities, one essentially learning from the other, and providing the opportunity to hear feedback on their work.