A primer of brief psychotherapy

This lively and engaging guide to brief therapy distills the practical essence of various approaches into a task-oriented applied model. The primer emphasizes commonalities while outlining differences among various strategic/structural, cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic approaches. The substantial literature justifying and explaining brief therapy practice is succinctly summarized, with attention to institutional and perceptual obstacles to brief therapy.

At the heart of this book is a detailed procedural outline, with an emphasis on the first session (since many patients come for only one therapy session anyway). In addition to discussing brief group and family therapy, the author addresses practical issues not commonly found in the brief therapy literature, such as charting, the use of testing, multiculturalism, and reconciling medical model demands (e.g., use of medication, formal diagnosis) with brief practice.