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Suitability for psychoanalytic psychotherapy: a review.
1Department North, Psychiatric Hospital in Aarhus, The Aarhus University Hospital, Risskov, Denmark. kv@psykiatri.aaa.dk
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
|February 27, 2004
Summary
Predicting successful psychoanalytic psychotherapy outcomes is complex. Key patient factors like object relations and motivation show modest predictive value, suggesting multivariate approaches are most promising.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychotherapy Research
Background:
- Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a widely used treatment modality.
- Identifying suitable candidates for psychoanalytic psychotherapy is crucial for treatment success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review empirical studies evaluating pretherapy suitability for psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
- To identify key patient characteristics that predict successful outcomes in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted across MEDLINE, PsychInfo, and EM-base databases.
- Forty-one English-language studies published over 20 years were selected for detailed analysis.
Main Results:
- Seventy-five percent of studies focused on brief dynamic psychotherapy.
- Individual suitability measures showed modest predictive value (correlations 0.17-0.73).
- High-quality object relations, psychological mindedness, and motivation for change were the most promising predictors of good outcomes.
Conclusions:
- The significance of psychological variables in brief dynamic therapies and prior research was confirmed.
- No single factor consistently predicted outcomes; multivariate approaches combining patient characteristics with therapy methods are recommended for future research.