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 psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

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 Therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indi ...

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, sometimes called willing suspension of disbelief, is the avoidance of critical thinking or logic in examining something unreal or impossible in reality, such as a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for t ...

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 sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

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 founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and a fello ...

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 Psychologica ...

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 brief and family therapy in general and of the strategic model of psychotherapy, and he was one of the more accomplished teachers, clinical supervisors, an ...

, in the book ''Uncommon therapy: The psychiatric techniques of Milton Erickson M.D.''

Richard Bandler Richard Wayne Bandler (born 1950) is an American consultant in the field of self-help. With John Grinder, he founded the neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) approach to psychotherapy in the 1970s. Education and background Bandler was born in Te ...

, the co-founder of

neuro-linguistic programming Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development and psychotherapy, that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's 1975 book ''The Structure of Magic I''. NLP claims that th ...

, 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

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 is a type of mind–body intervention in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern. Popularized by 17th and 18th c ...

, strategic therapy, brief therapy) * Giorgio Nardone (brief therapy, strategic therapy) *

Steve de Shazer Steve de Shazer (June 25, 1940, Milwaukee – September 11, 2005, Vienna) was a psychotherapist, author, and developer and pioneer of solution focused brief therapy. In 1978, he founded the Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) in Milwaukee, W ...

( 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 ...

(Brief therapy, systems theory)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brief Therapy Neuro-linguistic programming concepts and methods Cognitive behavioral therapy Counseling

Overview

Founding proponents

Notable therapists

See also

References

External links