ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the material that would normally be presented in a three-day course to give practising therapists a working idea of the basics of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy. Some therapists have begun to work in the brief method and have come up against adverse comments from their supervisor. The idea of therapy being short is not a new one, although it seems as if the concept has to be repeatedly rediscovered. The focus needs to be found early on, preferably in the first session, and as therapists note the need for speed in finding the focus, the need for activity and flexibility on the therapist’s part also becomes apparent. Despite being rooted in the analytic tradition, even the early brief therapists, who were mostly trained analysts, actively embraced techniques from other traditions. L. Wolberg in the 60s, for example, referring to a ‘fusion of skills’.
