The interlude between short- and long-term psychotherapy

The interlude between short- and long-term psychotherapy is a critical period, fraught with possible pitfalls as well as therapeutic opportunities. During this transitional phase certain discernible shifts may take place in the therapeutic process. Among these changes are: (1) an increasing vagueness with respect to formerly circumscribed goals and outcomes, (2) the assumption on the part of the therapist of a less active role in the treatment process, and (3) the growing centrality and significance of the transference relationship to the therapeutic process. Each of these shifts will very likely evoke strong and sometimes frightening reactions in the patient. These reactions can often be effectively broached and resolved through discussion and interpretation of their earlier origins. An effective auxiliary approach, however, is the willingness of the therapist to impart to the confused or frightened patient his rationales for being less definitive regarding therapeutic goals, less active in pursuing those goals, and more explicitly interested in the patient's attitudes towards him.