What Does “Brief” Mean? A Theoretical Critique of The Concept of Brief Therapy from a Psychoanalytic Viewpoint

Bibliographic Data

ID8335990
AuthorsPaolo Migone (0000-0001-9038-667X, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume62
Issue4
Pages631-656
Publication date2014-08-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0651 • E-ISSN: 1941-2460
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0003065114544319
PMID25049047
OpenAlexW2326647899
LanguageEN
References cited15

The concept of “brief therapy” contains internal contradictions. The techniques suggested by brief therapists are the same techniques that have been discussed historically in debates on theory of technique, both within and without psychoanalysis (e.g., the experiential factor at the center of the Freud-Ferenczi confrontation is also an important aspect of Gestalt therapy). A time limit is the only operational criterion that allows a rigorous definition of brief therapy; without this criterion it is impossible to discriminate between “brief” and simply “good” therapies (i.e., those in which patients are successfully treated in a short time). An important question is why, with a given patient, a therapist should decide, a priori, to terminate a treatment within a set time. Two clinical examples are presented, illustrating the usefulness of Eissler’s concept of parameters as a heuristic framework to identify the potentially defensive nature of both “brief” and “long-term” therapy

A priori and a posteriori · Epistemology · Experiential learning · Gestalt psychology · Gestalt therapy · Heuristic · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Psychoanalytic Therapy · Psychotherapist · Set (abstract data type) · Child Therapy and Development · Computer Science · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology, Coaching, and Therapy · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

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