Brief psychotherapy (also brief therapy, planned short-term therapy) is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches to short-term, solution-oriented
psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
.
Overview
Brief therapy differs from other schools of therapy in that it emphasizes (1) a focus on a specific problem and (2) direct intervention. In brief therapy, the
therapist
A therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy. Therapists are trained professionals in the field of any types of services like psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. They are helpful in counseling individuals for various mental ...
takes responsibility for working more pro-actively with the client in order to treat clinical and subjective conditions faster. It also emphasizes precise observation, utilization of natural resources, and a temporary
suspension of disbelief
Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe i ...
to consider new perspectives and multiple viewpoints.
Rather than the formal analysis of historical causes of
distress, the primary approach of brief therapy is to help the client to view the present from a wider context and to utilize more functional understandings (not necessarily at a
conscious
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, a ...
level). By becoming aware of these new understandings, successful clients will ''de facto'' undergo spontaneous and generative change.
Brief therapy is often highly strategic, exploratory, and solution-based rather than problem-oriented. It is less concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change. Brief therapists do not adhere to one "correct" approach, but rather accept that there being many paths, any of them may or may not, in combination, turn out to be ultimately beneficial.
Founding proponents
Milton Erickson
Milton Hyland Erickson (5 December 1901 – 25 March 1980) was an American psychiatrist and psychologist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy. He was the founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. He is not ...
was a practitioner of brief therapy, using clinical
hypnosis
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...
as his primary tool. To a great extent, he developed this himself. His approach was popularized by
Jay Haley
Jay Douglas Haley (July 19, 1923 – February 13, 2007) was one of the founding figures of Problem-solving brief therapy and family therapy in general and of the strategic model of psychotherapy, and he was one of the more accomplished teachers, ...
, in the book ''Uncommon therapy: The psychiatric techniques of Milton Erickson M.D.''
Richard Bandler, the co-founder of
neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's book ''The Structure of Magic I'' (1975). NLP ...
, is another firm proponent of brief therapy. After many years of studying Erickson's therapeutic work, he wrote:
[Bandler, Richard. ''Time for a Change''. Cupertino, Calif.: Meta Publications, 1993. 20.
]
Notable therapists
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Nicholas Cummings
Nicholas Andrew Cummings (July 25, 1924 – June 8, 2020) was an American psychologist and author.
Education
Cummings first attended the University of California at Berkeley, receiving a bachelor's degree in psychology, before moving to Claremon ...
(brief therapy, focused therapy)
*
Milton H. Erickson (
hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...
,
strategic therapy, brief therapy)
*
Giorgio Nardone (brief therapy, strategic therapy)
*
Steve de Shazer (
solution focused brief therapy)
*
Paul Watzlawick
Paul Watzlawick (July 25, 1921 – March 31, 2007) was an Austrian-American family therapist, psychologist, communication theorist, and philosopher. A theoretician in communication theory and radical constructivism, he commented in the fields o ...
(Brief therapy, systems theory)
See also
*
List of counseling topics
*
Mental Research Institute
The Palo Alto Mental Research Institute (MRI) is one of the founding institutions of brief and family therapy.Nichols, M., & Schwartz, R. (2005). ''Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods'' (7th Edition), New York City: Prentice Hall. Founded by D ...
one of the founding clinics of brief therapy and home of a number of the notable therapists mentioned above
*
Solution focused brief therapy
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brief Therapy
Neuro-linguistic programming concepts and methods
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Counseling