Psychodynamic Psychotherapies Efficacy

Psychodynamic Psychotherapies: Efficacy

Evidence for Acute-Phase Efficacy

No controlled efficacy studies exist for extended dynamic therapy or psychoanalysis of depression. Brief dynamic therapy, on the other hand, has been studied in 10 randomized controlled trials. Of these studies, 6 of the early investigations were subjected to meta-analysis, but significant methodological and design problems prevented any far-reaching conclusions regarding efficacy (Depression Guideline Panel 1993). Five of the 6 studies examined brief dynamic therapy in a group format, even though individual therapy is much more widely practiced. No study compared a pill placebo with brief dynamic therapy. Another major difficulty in generalizing from these data is that the investigations were usually conducted by researchers who were not professionally trained in brief dynamic psychotherapy and were merely using it as a control group for comparison with other forms of therapy.

Nevertheless, the overall evidence does point in the direction of a reduction of depressive symptoms with brief dynamic therapy. In the six studies subjected to meta-analysis, the overall efficacy of brief dynamic therapy was 34.8%, an efficacy that was somewhat less impressive than that of other therapies (Depression Guideline Panel 1993). The meta-analysis did not show any differences in efficacy between medication and brief dynamic therapy. In the studies that involved a waiting-list control (Thompson et al. 1987) and a nonspecific treatment control, brief dynamic therapy was significantly more effective than a waiting list but no different in efficacy than nonspecific treatment.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapies Introduction Indications Efficacy

• Evidence for Acute-Phase Efficacy
• Evidence for Continuation- and Maintenance-Phase Efficacy Applications and Procedures
• Dynamic Pharmacotherapy/Dynamic Clinical Management
• Psychodynamic Themes in the Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis of Depressed Patients
• Treatment Principles Suicidality Negative Effects