ABSTRACT

Moshe Talmon and M. F. Hoyt, in Capturing the Moment volume, which came out of the first International Conference on Single-session therapy (SST) and walk-in services of the same name highlight three key themes in SST. These are: mindset; time; and client empowerment. The author’s view on the issue is that the SST mindset is more flexible than the 'only one session' view of SST and thus suits better therapists with a pluralistic perspective on therapy such as himself. It also suits those clients who will commit to a single session if they know that more sessions are possible. Talmon and Hoyt note that "Single-session therapy is predicated on the belief and expectation that change can occur in the moment". SST is also based on the idea that once clients have made a change, they can maintain and enhance their gains by utilising both their inner strengths and external resources so that a virtuous cycle of change is initiated.