The Cost-Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy in Public Health Care Settings

Public health care systems are tasked with meeting the wide-ranging needs of large patient populations. Interventions that are broadly applicable, clinically effective, and cost-efficient are essential. Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) is an evidence-based psychodynamic therapy that has been successfully applied in the treatment of many mental health conditions and functional somatic disorders. The aim of this scoping review was to describe the health economic data of ISTDP in health care settings. Substantial financial savings and reductions were identified from hospital, physician, medication, disability, and welfare costs following treatment. ISTDP has the potential to deliver significant cost reductions for state funders, health commissioners, and care providers. Additional research is required to confirm the full extent of cost savings that can be achieved with ISTDP.