Short-term or Brief CounselingTherapy and the Current Mental Health System

In this essay, the author

• Explains that resolving human emotional and behavioral problems is a major force in the field of psychology.
• Explains that freud's system is a relatively recent phenomenon, and the concept itself is at least as old as
• Opines that despite trying to limit his analysis to six to twelve months, he had hoped that in time it would be done.
• Opines that freud first sought a quick cure.
• Opines that freud would have preferred a brief therapy over an open-ended therapy.
• Explains that social changes brought on by the pressures of world war ii led to a great demand for shorts.
• Opines that war creates large market niches and economic boon at the expense of war.
• Explains that president kennedy and the congress passed a service bill in 1963, due to an increasing need for services.
• Opines that brief therapy became more popular and necessary in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
• Opines that the question of who is or isn’t an appropriate client for brief therapy seems to point to this.
• Opines that those who can afford the unlimited-time frame and expense involved are not in the average, mainstream.
• Explains that reviews of studies have shown that there are essentially no differences in outcome between short and long-term studies.
• Describes the benefits of career counseling and outreach to students.
• Refers to a study by gage and gyorky (1990).
• Describes the approaches to brief therapy and counseling that they would integrate.
• Opines that this is very directive. the main reason i like this approach is because it clearly demonstrates living.
• Opines that academic issues are not a panacea, and may not be as effective in dealing with more intrapsychic issues.
• Opines that it will probably help most of the client populations (college students) presenting problems most.
• Explains the role of unconscious factors and neglecting feelings.
• Describes the context and values of the client's before attempting to confront or change their way of thinking.
• Describes some gestalt techniques to help bring past issues into the “here and now.”
• Recommends using gestalt techniques (such as role-reversal, etc.) instead of being symptom-oriented.
• Opines that americans may not be comfortable with this focus and prefer a more structured approach.
• Opines that approaches are short (by default, not by design), when you consider the actual number of sessions.
• Concludes that with the pressures of an ever-fast-paced society such as ours, the summary:
• Opines that intervention is truly needed, but in the face of the evidence, it's great to know we have them.
• Evaluates the merits of open-ended therapeutic practices at the expense of the best interests of their clients.
• Cites butcher, j. n., and koss, m. p. on brief and crisis oriented psychotherapies.
• Explains garfield, s. l., and kurtz, e. clinical psychologists: a survey of selected attitudes and views.
• Explains nugent, f. a., an introduction to the profession of counseling.
• Describes stone, g. l., and archer, j.
• Cites butcher, j. n., and koss, m. p. on brief and crisis oriented psychotherapies.
• Explains garfield, s. l., and kurtz, e. clinical psychologists: a survey of selected attitudes and views.
• Explains nugent, f. a., an introduction to the profession of counseling.
• Describes stone, g. l., and archer, j.
• Quotes wells (1982) and nugent (1994) for a working definition of short-term therapy/counseling.
• Explains that brief therapy approaches help clients develop coping skills that will enable them to anticipate and manage.
• Explains that due to budget constraints, the rising cost of mental-health care, and a growing demand for services over the last decade, counselors have been using brief.
• Explains the importance of managed health care and the ever-increasing need for it.
• Explains that short-term or brief therapy refers to more than just the length or duration of counselor-client contact. it also incorporates the use of sophisticated directive skills.
• Explains that the specificity of brief therapy, the active role of the therapist, and the expectations concerning the length of therapy all help to facilitate the process and avoid some pitfalls that occur in long-term
• Explains the four types of patients best suited for brief techniques, according to butcher and koss (1978). garfield (1989) states that brief therapy can be considered for most patients who are in touch with reality
• Explains that the concept of long-term psychotherapy may be a myth based on the actual number of cases. studies have consistently shown that clients drop out before ten sessions over half the time.
• Opines that some patients drop out of therapy dissatisfied, because of a mismatch of values and expectations with their therapists, but those who leave therapy early seldom go for therapy elsewhere.
• Explains that a study by butcher and koss (1978) stated that improvement was reported in about 70% of cases in various modalities of short-term therapies.
• Opines that if not for time-limited intervention, they wonder where and how they would get the help that they need.
• Concludes that college campuses are a perfect setting for brief therapy/counseling approaches. with older students returning to college, the diversity of presenting problems among the college client pool should be large.
• Describes their long-term goals of becoming a clinical psychologist and author, but they have chosen college counseling as an interim step to gain valuable counseling experience.
• Explains that they chose college counseling because they have direct experience in this arena and feel they can relate to many of the problems they will be presented with by students.
• Opines that empathy and insight is hard to learn from less than first-hand experience and can be a most valuable asset when working with someone who is suffering.
• Argues that cognitive therapy has been criticized as focusing too much on the power of positive thinking, as being too superficial and simplistic.
• Explains that interactions can be generalized to interactions with others outside of therapy. the past may be explored, but only in the context of the client’s present circumstances.
• Opines that bringing the health of the physical body and spirit into play is an essential aspect to overall health and well-being as emphasized by holistic practitioners.
• Opines that brief therapy/counseling is a great therapeutic tool for the majority of the more normal developmental life issues or problems that present themselves in the lives of people.
• Opines that the concept of brief therapy is well rooted in historical foundation. freud was looking for a quick cure for neurosis and did not intend on the long-drawn-out process that psychoanalysis eventually became.
• Opines that brief counseling/therapy is an approach that suits most of the major therapy/counseling theories. it seems inhumane to treat people for long periods at huge expense if they can be effectively.
• Opines that approaches, need to be more honest with themselves about who is really being served in the majority of time-unlimited interventions. old habits and attitudes often die hard.
• Explains gurman, a. s., and kniskern, d. p. research on marital and family therapy: progress, perspective and prospect.
• Explains gurman, a. s., and kniskern, d. p. research on marital and family therapy: progress, perspective and prospect.