Short-term dynamic psychotherapy: its history, its impact and its future

Short-term dynamic psychotherapy is successful for the healthier patient, but also for the individual with severe and chronic problems. The author surveys the history of brief intervention since Freud. Despite favorable outcomes, there has been a lack of interest for short-term dynamic therapy. Analysts, emphasizing on long-term analysis, failed to distinguish between developing theory and treatment. Since the mid-fifties interest for short-term techniques has increased. Research is resulting in criteria for selection and outcome. Utilized are active techniques, as transference interpretation, in dealing with specified foci. Successful outcome is obtained in oedipal problems, grief reactions, obessive compulsive illnesses, multiple phobias and some boderline disorders. In future, research is necessary on differentiation between patients, on comparison between treatment methods, and on technical factors, next to education and training.