First Capitol Counseling Connection
Dr. Howard Rosenthal
What In The World Is This New Brief Mental Health Treatment?
Dear Dr. Rosenthal,
My best friend told me that she solved her personal problems in just a few sessions by seeing a brief therapist. I personally went to therapy years ago and I attended sessions for several years. I’m experiencing difficulties again and was wondering if brief therapy might work for me. What in the world is brief therapy? - Lisa
Dear Lisa,
Brief therapy – which also goes under the names of brief solution oriented therapy, brief strategic therapy, solution focused brief therapy (SFBT), an offshoot, dubbed as narrative therapy, and possibility therapy – is extremely popular right now. Many textbooks and graduate schools are pushing this model to the hilt. In addition, I’ve received a number of questions about this approach since I began writing this column.
One advantage to brief therapy is that . . . well, it’s brief . . . and generally takes less time to complete than traditional psychotherapy and counseling. Insurance companies, HMOs and managed care programs often prefer this model since it helps keep treatment costs down. There is not an insurance company on the face of the earth (at least that I’m aware of one, nor or other the experts I’ve consulted with) that will pay the whole bill for you to see a classical Freudian analyst for five days a week for approximately three or four years. Simply put: In most cases an insurance company would prefer short- term treatment to a long-term approach.
I can’t truly do justice to this form of intervention in this short article; however, here are a few insights into this paradigm. In brief solution oriented therapy, the emphasis (just like the name implies) is on the solution, not the problem. Hint: Your therapist won’t allow you 30 sessions to talk about your childhood or the fact that your mother liked your sister best! (They always do you know.)
The therapist will help you focus on exceptions to your problem. For example, if you are depressed, are there ever times when you are not depressed? If you can’t get along with your teen-age daughter, are there ever times when you do get along with her?
By focusing on what occurs during these rare periods, the therapist can often help you behave in a more productive manner. Therapists of this ilk often give homework assignments for you to perform after each session.
If you are looking for a therapist to build a long-term therapeutic relationship with or a helper to analyze the nuances of your childhood, let me state forthrightly that this isn’t the treatment of choice for you.
On the other hand, if the aforementioned factors are not an issue why not give brief therapy a whirl and see if it does the trick? Many, though not all, of the people who have tried this approach have given it thumbs up. Remember that no model of treatment works in every case.
Dr. Howard Rosenthal, is professor and program coordinator of Human Services at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. He is the recipient of several clinical and teaching awards and the author of the Encyclopedia of Counseling and the Human Services Dictionary. His website is www.howardrosenthal.com.
