Abstract & Overview
This qualitative study seeks to discover the key principles of short term psychodynamic psychotherapy to answer the question: What is it?In uncovering its essential features it also aims to reveal the factors that influence the shortening process.The findings are based on an empirical study using eleven cases from practitioners who expect real change within a flexible time scale that is individually agreed with each client.The average number of sessions in this sample was 6.6, the median being between 4 and 6.The findings are seen to be underpinned by the work of the early proponents and also to have moved on from these.They both support and challenge contemporary authors on the subject.The author concludes that there are key principles that help to shorten the process of therapy.The conclusions fill a gap in the existing literature.They contribute to the body of knowledge available and are presented in a conceptual framework that brings both an original perspective and a new clarity to our understanding of brief psychodynamic therapy in the late nineteen nineties.The author goes one step further and concludes with a conjecture as to what it is about these principles that contributes to the shortening effect.