ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of some of the main branches of psychotherapy, and then describes in a little more detail several brief forms of therapy that may be used in mental health nursing. Freud, his colleagues, students and family (such as Carl Jung, Harry Stack Sullivan and Anna Freud) proposed and elaborated on theories of personality, human development and therapeutic techniques that have influenced the development of almost every talking therapy. The quality of the therapeutic alliance also appears to be the most important factor in mental health case management outcomes and even in service users adhering to prescribed medication. Demonstrating honesty, unconditional regard and communicating empathic understanding towards the client over time are the critical ingredients of therapy. These thoughts have to a large extent been confirmed in research looking at psychotherapy outcomes. When different kinds of therapies are compared, no one approach has been found to be superior for most mental health problems.
