ABSTRACT
Nicholas Cummings has argued for a model in mental health. Rather than sign up for lengthy and time-consuming psychotherapy, Cummings advocated that people should consult a therapist when they have a problem and leave therapy when that problem has been solved. Then, when they experience another problem, they should consult a therapist again, and this process should continue throughout their lifetime. Cummings referred to this as "brief intermittent psychotherapy throughout the life cycle". This model of brief intermittent therapy through the life cycle sits easily with single-session therapy. Cummings would recommend the use of targeted, focused interventions and when the client's goal has been achieved treatment is 'interrupted' rather than terminated. The therapist is urged to do something novel in the first and perhaps only session, and the client is encouraged to take whatever they have learned in the session and to apply it to their life outside the session.
