In today's world of managed care -- characterized by limited mental health resources, emphasis on accountability, concerns of third-party payers, and consumer need -- the demand for mental health professionals to use briefer therapeutic approaches is on the rise. Fully 84% of all clinicians are doing some form of planned brief therapy (6-20 sessions per year per patient). Yet despite clinical advances and outcome data that demonstrate the effectiveness of short-term therapy, many therapists -- in fact, 90% of those whose theoretical orientation is psychodynamic rather than cognitive-behavioral -- are reluctant to learn briefer interventions, seeing value only in long-term, depth-oriented work. The second edition of this Concise Guide is intended to help educate both beginning and experienced clinicians in the strategies and techniques of time-attentive models and to foster more positive and optimistic attitudes toward using these important therapies. The seven therapeutic models presented here -- including an entirely new chapter on time-limited group therapy -- highlight the importance of the interpersonal perspective. The seven models, one per chapter, represent well-established short-term approaches to clinical issues that therapists commonly encounter in their clinical practices. These models also have clearly defined intervention techniques and formulation strategies and can be used within the 10- to 20-session time frame of most managed care settings. The first part of each chapter dealing with a therapeutic model lists the various presenting problems the authors deem most suitable for treatment by that particular approach. The authors discuss the overall framework of each model, selection criteria, goals, therapeutic tasks and strategies, empirical support, and relevance for managed care, with clinical cases to illustrate the application of each model. The authors include updated chapters on supportive, time-limited, and interpersonal therapies; time-limited dynamic psychotherapy; short-term dynamic therapy for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder; brief dynamic therapy for patients with substance abuse disorders; an entirely new chapter on time-limited group therapy; and a final chapter on the reciprocal relationship between pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Meant to complement the more detailed information found in lengthier psychiatric texts, this Concise Guide (it is designed to fit into a jacket or lab coat pocket) is a practical and convenient reference for psychiatrists, psychiatric residents, and medical students working in a variety of treatment settings, such as inpatient psychiatry units, outpatient clinics, consultation-liaison services, and private offices.

This guide presents seven brief psychodynamic therapy models, including: supportive therapy; time-limited therapy; interpersonal therapy; time-limited dynamic psychotherapy; short-term dynamic therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder; brief dynamic therapy for substance abuse disorders; and brief psychodynamic psychotherapy with children. The models are established short-term approaches to common clinical problems and can accomodate the ten- to 20-minutes session time frame found in most managed care settings. Each chapter focuses on a particular approach, and matches particular patient problems best handled by that approach. The book discusses each model in terms of its overall framework, selection criteria, goals, therapeutic tasks and strategies, empirical support, and relevance for managed care. Clinical cases are provided to illustrate how each model is applied. A separate chapter covering the use of psychopharmacology in brief psychotherapy is also included.

Developing skills in psychodynamic psychotherapy and its techniques is a lifetime endeavor. The third edition of this volume from American Psychiatric Publishing's enduringly popular Concise Guides series serves as an excellent starting point for mastering these vital skills -- skills that can be applied to many other psychiatric treatment modalities, including other psychotherapies, medication management, consultation-liaison psychiatry, outpatient and emergency room assessment and evaluation, and inpatient treatment. In a compact guide -- complete with glossary, indexes, tables, charts, and relevant references -- designed to fit into a lab coat pocket, the authors Provide the clinician with an updated introduction to the concepts and techniques of psychodynamic psychotherapy, describing their usefulness in other treatments. For example, psychodynamic listening and psychodynamic evaluation are best learned in the context of psychodynamic psychotherapy training but are applicable in many other psychiatric diagnostic and treatment methods. Convey the excitement and usefulness -- as well as the difficulties -- of psychodynamic psychotherapy and its techniques, including case examples. Show the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of psychotherapy in general, and of psychodynamic psychotherapy in particular -- issues of special importance in the evidence-based practice of medicine and mental health care. Explain the advantages -- and limitations -- of each form of psychodynamic psychotherapy: brief, long-term, and intermittent. For example, psychotherapists must be able to recognize patterns of interpersonal interaction without engaging in the "drama." Thus, they must learn to recognize and understand their own reactions as early indicators of events transpiring in the treatment and as potential roadblocks to a successful treatment. Complementing more detailed, lengthier psychiatry texts, this volume's 15 densely informative chapters cover everything from basic principles to patient evaluation, resistance and defense, transference and countertransference, dreams, beginning and termination of treatment, management of practical problems, brief and supportive psychotherapy, and psychotherapy of borderline personality disorder and other severe character pathologies. Mental health care professionals everywhere will turn to this practical guide again and again as an invaluable resource in creating and implementing effective treatment plans for their patients.

History -- Theory -- The therapy process -- Evaluation -- Future developments.

An introduction to the concepts and techniques of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, aimed at clinicians seeking to find the best treatment for the pain and suffering of their patients with psychiatric illness. Covered are patient evaluation, resistance, transference, dreams and termination.

Provides concise, thoroughly updated coverage of all the major principles and important issues in psychodynamic psychotherapy, including concepts and techniques, initiation and termination of treatment, and patient evaluation and education. Four key chapters review resistance and defense, transference, countertransference, and dreams, furnishing a wealth of practical suggestions for the beginning therapist.

Presenting a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to conducting psychodynamic therapy, this engaging guide is firmly grounded in contemporary clinical practice and research. The book reflects an openness to new influences on dynamic technique, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and positive psychology. It offers a fresh understanding of the most common problems for which patients seek help -- depression, obsessionality, low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, panic, and trauma -- and shows how to organize and deliver effective psychodynamic interventions. Extensive case material illustrates each stage of therapy, from engagement to termination. Special topics include ways to integrate individual treatment with psychopharmacology and with couple or family work.