Brief psychotherapy with vulnerable patients: an outcome assessment

The outcome of brief therapy with psychologically vulnerable patients is uncertain, and some clinicians, anticipating negative effects, recommend exclusion of such patients from time-limited treatment. We had the opportunity to explore the results of time-limited dynamic therapy with eight vulnerable patients, a subsample within a larger series of 35 persons treated for pathological grief reactions precipitated by parental death. These cases included three poor outcomes, four good outcomes, and one fair outcome. Examination of each case individually suggests that for the majority, brief therapy was useful in stemming a downhill course. In some cases, it also provided a bridge to an indicated longer-term psychotherapy.