The 16-Minute Hour: Combining Abbreviated Psychotherapy With Medication Visits. Part 3: Psychodynamic Therapy

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Psychiatrists increasingly integrate psychotherapy into brief medication management appointments.
• This combined approach is often reimbursed under the 90833 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for 16-37 minutes of psychotherapy.
• There is a noted scarcity of scholarly literature addressing short-form combined therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the practice gap in integrated psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.
• To provide guidance for practicing professionals on incorporating psychotherapy into medication visits.
• This specific installment focuses on psychodynamic psychotherapy integration.

Main Methods:

• This article is part of a 4-part series.
• It focuses on psychodynamic psychotherapy as a specific modality.
• The approach is discussed in the context of integration with pharmacotherapy.

Main Results:

• Psychodynamic psychotherapy is identified as a suitable modality for integration.
• The personalized nature of psychodynamic therapy makes it adaptable to brief sessions.
• The series aims to guide clinicians in applying this integrated model.

Conclusions:

• Psychodynamic psychotherapy can be effectively integrated into brief psychiatric medication visits.
• This integration addresses a practical need for clinicians and aligns with current reimbursement practices (CPT code 90833).
• Further guidance and scholarship are needed to support this growing practice.