ABSTRACT
W ith the growing emphasis on community mental health, the psychoana lyst is increasingly being called on to organize, administer, and participate in community programs. Among these are projects to shorten psychother apy in order to bring its benefits within the reach of the masses of people who are in need of therapeutic services. The abbreviated goals that this undertaking requires, as well as the deviations from classical technique that short-term treatment necessitates, may run counter to the philosophies and habitual practices of the psychoanalyst. A review of the virtues and limita tions of short-term therapy and a delineation of the specific contributions psychoanalysis may make to it are the aims of this chapter.
