Review of Becoming solution-focused in brief therapy.

Reviews the book, Becoming solution-focused in brief therapy by John L. Walter and Jane E. Peller (see record 1992-97355-000). With this book, the authors' goal was to produce a manual to aid therapists in learning the model of constructing solutions in brief therapy. Theoretical assumptions about personality development and psychotherapy technique which are crucial to implementing the model are presented. Walters and Peller work within a framework which assumes that problems are maintained by individuals functioning in family and organizational systems and that these individuals have the resources to change personal behavior. Interactional patterns between individuals in various systems are the focus of attention. The book is a clear and consistent portrayal of a therapy approach which is growing in application. It is readable and practical. In summary, this is an effective book which demonstrates alternate theories (exceptions) which could provide an almost miraculous solution to some troubled clients. Advanced graduate students and active practitioners will find this a helpful book in learning the model of constructing solutions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The first session in brief therapy.

Reviews the book, The first session in brief therapy edited by Simon H. Budman, Michael F. Hoyt, and Steven Friedman (see record 1992-98543-000). This book provides an overview of the models of brief psychotherapeutic intervention. A major focus is how brief therapists structure and manage their initial contact with the patient. The editors intend this volume to be a casebook in which the reader can learn what therapists actually do in their clinical practice and offers the reader opportunities to further develop and sharpen his/her thinking regarding brief therapy. According to the reviewer, this book provides a fine survey of the current diversity of approaches to brief therapy. Taken as a whole, the book stimulates considerable thought on the most efficacious use of time in psychotherapy and will appeal to a wide audience including graduate students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Brief psychotherapies: Principles and practices.

Reviews the book, Brief psychotherapies: Principles and practices by Michael F. Hoyt (2009). Despite the evident desire of many clients to address their issues in as time-efficient manner as possible (even one session), most therapists are trained to deliver psychotherapy via longer-term models of practice. Although more graduate programs than in the past are beginning to offer training in brief therapy, in many instances this is a one course elective without related practical experience. Hoyt’s book provides a wide-angle overview of the field of brief therapy, as well as an up close look at one of its most prominent models (Solution-Focused Therapy). In doing so, it could serve as a centerpiece for courses in brief psychotherapy. Time sensitive therapy fits in a time sensitive world—a world in which both the clients and funders of services want problems to be addressed in as focused a way as possible. This book teaches therapists a great deal about how to navigate in that world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Brief therapy with couples.

Reviews the book, Brief therapy with couples by Maria Gilbert and Diana Shmukler (see record 1997-08432-000). As every clinician knows, couples' problems rank at or near the top of the stress hierarchy. These problems are the direct focus of, or at least indirectly related to, much of our work. Gilbert and Shmukler have waded in, worked hard, and yielded up a straightforward, serviceably slim volume that marches toward its goal with nary a misstep. From the outset they establish a refreshingly realistic parameter: for them, "brief" means six to eight sessions. Although the often-cited maximum of 25 sessions has the appeal of a nice round number, the brutal realities of the managed-care world lead us all more frequently into the realm of single digits. Refreshing also is the authors' candid assessment of brief therapy's strengths and limitations. They rightly point out how brief formats tend to minimize such problems as triangulation of, dependence on, and transference toward, the therapist, but they do not hesitate to explore the inevitable downside. A treatment with this time frame, they note, simply does not allow for the consolidation of new behavior patterns during the course of the therapy itself; instead, it is hoped that the ego strength of the clients will allow for continuing consolidation in the months following termination. Furthermore, they are candid about the sometimes insurmountable wall of personal pathology: "The main limitation of brief therapy with couples is that it simply may not reach deepseated, personal issues that are confounding the relationship." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Symptom analysis: A method of brief therapy.

Reviews the book, Symptom analysis: A method of brief therapy by M. Gerald Edelstien (see record 1990-97543-000). This book compares different methods of psychotherapy to find their common thread of effectiveness. According to the reviewer, the author has presented a bold, elegantly simple and quite useful theory. After a discussion of various theories about the origin of psychiatric symptoms and showing how the trauma theory may be seen to underlie various seemingly disparate therapeutic approaches, the author goes on to discuss the general values of brief therapy. Symptom Analysis is a bright book that is full of the author's clinical observations and sometimes challenges so-called "conventional wisdom" without having scientific "hard data" to support its suggestions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy by Williams Hudson O'Hanlon and Michelle Weiner-Davis (see record 1989-98511-000). This book is a presentation of solution-oriented therapy, which derives from the work of Milton Erickson. The book also draws upon research from the Mental Research Institute's work in brief therapy, and from the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, where the second author was part of the research team. The book, however, is not a presentation of research; there are no discussions of statistics or research design. What the book does discuss is implementing solution-oriented therapy, an approach which focuses on the strengths of clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives.

The impetus for this book grew out of the editor's dissatisfaction with approaches to sex therapy that overemphasize the technical aspects of sexual functioning and thus fail to appreciate the interpersonal relationships in which sexual problems arise. A central thesis of this book is that clinicians need to be aware of how sexuality is always a "product" of a complex set of power relations. The book provides up-to-date coverage of the theoretical and research literature in the field of sex therapy, while the contributors provide challenges to reductive, biomedical explanations of clients' sexual intimacy-related concerns, and they offer many practical, insightful, and helpful suggestions. The book is relevant to sex therapists, but it would also be a valuable resource for counselors and faculty teaching graduate-level courses in sexuality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narrative solutions: An integration of self and systems perspectives in motivating change.

This article describes an assimilative integration process in which a concept from individual therapy, Rogerian unconditional positive regard, was integrated into a theory of family therapy based on the assumptions of the Mental Research Institute school of strategic family therapy. Milton Erickson's utilization principle served as the catalyst for a closer examination of the motivational elements of Rogers' unconditional positive regard. From this emerged Eron and Lund's concept of preferred view, a way of thinking and talking about a valued self from both intrapersonal and interpersonal perspectives. The approach resulting from this assimilative integration, narrative solutions, has the advantage of being nonimpositional while also giving therapists a clear framework for conducting effective conversations with clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Models of brief psychodynamic therapy.

Reviews the book, Models of brief psychodynamic therapy by Stanley B. Messer and C. Seth Warren. This book is suitable for supplementary reading in a graduate psychotherapy course, and is intended for graduate students in the field of clinical and counseling psychology. It is also intended as a concise reference work on brief psychodynamic therapies for clinicians who are or wish to practice in the newer mode of limited goals and limited sessions. The authors consider drive theory based psychotherapy treatment, as well as integrative and eclectic models of brief psychodynamic therapy. In consideration of each of the various approaches, Messer and Warren have primarily concerned themselves with four issues as a focal point of their analysis: (a) the theory of pathology involved; (b) the development of a clinical focus; (c) patient selection considerations, including indications and contraindications; and (d) typical techniques associated with the treatment involved. This text is an excellent addition to the literature, primarily for adjunct reading in graduate courses on psychotherapy. It also affords the opportunity for psychodynamically oriented clinicians to address a need for an overview and grounding in brief treatment models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Models of brief psychodynamic therapy.

Reviews the book, Models of brief psychodynamic therapy by Stanley B. Messer and C. Seth Warren (see record 1995-98730-000), stating that the book organizes the prevailing models of brief psychodynamic therapy (BPT) into a clear and easily comprehended framework. The opening chapter sets the stage for the remainder of the book through a general overview of the current and historical contexts in which brief psychodynamic therapies have been performed and developed. Current views of brief psychotherapy are reviewed from the perspectives of the patient, the therapist, and managed care. This is followed by a review of the historical background of BPT, in which credit is given to Freud, Rank, Ferenczi, Alexander, and Reich for their relevant technical and theoretical contributions. Next, the authors survey some of the research relevant to BPT. The chapter concludes with a comprehensive discussion on the learning and teaching of BPT. Once this groundwork is laid, the authors delve into a discussion of the major models of BPT currently practiced and researched. The authors group the BPTs along theoretical lines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a Constructivist Control Mastery Theory: An Integration With Narrative Therapy.

The integration of control mastery theory and narrative therapy provides a critical constructivist approach to a psychodynamic psychotherapy. The root metaphor of stories, even more than pathogenic beliefs, offers a fertile landscape in which clients' problems can be deconstructed along the theoretical lines formulated by control mastery. A heightened sensitivity to cultural and intergenerational contexts adds to the power of such interventions. Perhaps even more important, new "mastery stories" can be constructed through attention to language, bodily based experience, and the therapeutic relationship. The positive outcome of this integration is greater 'pro-plan' specificity, which is the capacity to more effectively infer and support the client's goals for therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Drama therapy and storymaking in special education.

Reviews the book, Drama therapy and storymaking in special education by Paula Crimmens (2006). This book is a resource for therapists, teachers, and paraprofessionals--anyone working with those children deemed to have "special needs." The book is divided into short chapters that are written in an informal, first person narrative style. The bulk of the book consists of chapters that focus on a particular theme or behavior, such as "helping others," "dealing with change," and "trickery and stealing." For each of these focus areas, Crimmens includes the texts of three or four relevant stories from a wide variety of cultures, and then "ideas for the story," which include thematically related games, visual art, character creation, and segments of simple dramatization. The book provides specific source material and activities that the author has successfully utilized in classroom settings. Both the stories and drama exercises that follow them address issues that are often more pronounced in children with various special needs. Although not earth shattering or revolutionary, this book will generate excitement in those practitioners who are looking for new ways to work with their students and clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Changing the rules: A client-directed approach to therapy.

Reviews the book, Changing the rules: A client-directed approach to therapy by Barry L. Duncan, Andrew D. Solovey, and Gregory S. Rusk (see record 1992-97964-000). The title of this book, and particularly its subtitle, convey the central message of the book. The subtitle signals to us that we may expect to find an emphasis on the client's own problem formulations as a guide to the therapist's behavior. Such an emphasis has decisive implications for the conceptual and technical framework of the authors' therapy. Two implications are especially worthy of note at the outset: first, the book aligns itself conceptually with the phenomenologically oriented models of psychotherapy. Second, the book sets forth a technology that emphasizes the collaborative and equalitarian aspects of the client-therapist relationship. The book utilizes a practice-oriented approach that documents its case through extensive presentations of verbatim therapy excerpts rather than the formal use of empirical research. The book thus stands as a clinical contribution that depends for its validity upon the cogency with which extant theory is illustrated clinically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Modest Proposal: Guidelines for Lengthening Psychotherapy.

Despite growing evidence regarding the efficacy of brief treatment (Sloane, Staples, Cristol, Yorkston & Whipple, 1975; Smith, Glass & Miller, 1980) and survey data that indicate that most outpatient psychological therapy in this country is relatively short term (Pardes & Pincus, 1981), some therapists still view brief treatment as second class, palliative care. It is to that staunch and hardy population of mental health practitioners that this article is directed. For those who see red at the mention of brief therapy, I offer a series of guidelines that will assist them in truly differentiating themselves from colleagues who are too naive, too involved with their own self-interests, or too poorly analyzed to realize the fallacious quality of brief therapy. The following guidelines are meant only as a tentative framework for the lengthening of psychotherapy. It is hoped that the reader can use these in designing other equally effective interventions toward the same end. A therapist who truly wishes to sit with patients until they are cured may approach this goal by implementing the guidelines above. Perhaps patients who are uncured will grow and develop. Most assuredly they will become older. An important question for therapy researchers evaluating such long-term treatment should be whether those patients who die over the course of such lengthened therapy should be considered successes or failures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Families and alcoholism: Developments in practice, research, and theory.

Reviews the books, Alcoholism treatment: An integrative family and individual approach by D. I. Davis (see record 1988-97811-000); Substance abuse and family therapy by E. Kaufman (1985); and The alcoholic family by P. Steinglass, L. A. Bennett, S. J. Wolin, and D. Reiss (see record 1987-98538-000). The book by Davis and Kaufman primarily address marital and family therapy (MFT) methods. The Steinglass et al. book presents a long-term, systematic program of theory development and research aimed at understanding the family system dynamics of alcoholic families. Davis provides excellent chapters on strategies for use in identifying and confronting alcohol problems and in getting a commitment from the family to work toward elimination of the problem drinking. The Davis book is an excellent resource; however, family and other therapists reading this book will need other resources for dealing with severe alcoholics, for moving rapidly to attain abstinence, and for dealing with long-term recovery. Kaufman's book is an excellent resource for family therapists wanting to learn more about dealing with alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse and for substance abuse therapists to learn about family therapy. The alcoholic family is an excellent book that will become a classic on this topic. We would recommend it for the serious clinician who wants a theoretical framework to guide decisions about therapeutic approaches with alcoholic families. We recommend all three books quite highly to practicing clinicians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Theory and practice of brief psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Theory and practice of brief psychotherapy by Simon H. Budman and Alan S. Gurman (1988). This book provides an excellent view into the theory and practice of effective brief therapy. In this comprehensive and well-written joint effort, the authors present and richly illustrate a brief treatment model that integrates the intrapsychic with the interpersonal, showing how skillful and motivated therapists who value pragmatism and flexibility can formulate and conduct therapies in a parsimonious, cost-effective manner. The authors emphasize that brief (or "time-sensitive") therapy is defined not by a certain number of treatment sessions but rather by the quest to be efficient and to get the job done as quickly as possible. Each chapter is full of basic principles, cogent research findings, and good clinical examples that will help the reader to be a more efficient therapist. This book should become basic reading for all therapists, in training or continuing their education, who want to learn more about how to get the job done efficiently. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brief psychodynamic and cognitive therapy regarding acute treatment.

Cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy either in their pure forms or possibly synthesized as a form of eclectic therapy appear to be the 2 most commonly utilized forms of psychotherapy, both having levels of empirical support. As the majority of outpatient therapy in America appears to be very brief, 1 reasonable assumption is that treatment is often sought for resolution of acute episodes. A relevant question for practice and clinical training is what are the potential implications with brief psychodynamic and cognitive therapy for this type of treatment? This brief commentary will address the following: (a) the current general differential empirical status of each approach; (b) distinctions between acute treatment and traditional brief therapy and current common treatment patterns; and (c) the general clinical mechanisms for change for each approach and their potential implications regarding acute treatment and clinical supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Bodies in treatment: The unspoken dimension.

Reviews the book, Bodies in treatment: The unspoken dimension by Frances Sommer Anderson (see record 2007-07946-000). In this book, the author aims to move talk and body therapists closer to one another, so that each appreciates the narrative and the visceral and so that, together, they can care for patients as wholly as possible. Body therapists consider the body to be a rich source of information, with the potential to facilitate regulation and reorganization of emotional states, explains William Cornell, in his chapter “Self in Action: The Bodily Basis of Self-Organization.” Specifically, body therapists ask patients to verbalize their physical sensations, to notice and to change their breathing, to adjust their posture. Sometimes body therapists touch patients to better sense and to reconfigure troubled parts of the body. These techniques aim to heed, deepen, and even change experiences at the level of the body. Despite this book’s imperfect cohesion and inconsistent strength (both common in edited books), it succeeds strongly in bringing needed attention to a dimension of treatment that has been largely ignored, and sometimes exploited, by therapists. This book will be of particular interest to clinicians (from graduate students in the field to seasoned analysts) who treat patients with eating disorders and/or trauma histories, patients who somatize, and patients who suffer from chronic illnesses. Francis Sommer Anderson is brave to have written about the ways her own profession of talk therapy failed to touch and heal some aspects of her patients, and some aspects of herself. The authors of her volume all contribute—most, very creatively and innovatively; some, eccentrically—to Anderson’s aim of including bodies in treatment and of healing patients as completely as possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)