A NEW SCHEDULING METHOD FOR TIME-LIMITED COUNSELING

The conventional method of scheduling counseling sessions in an equal-interval manner (e.g., weekly sessions) is not optimal, as it rests on an incorrect assumption that the client's need for help and retention of the therapeutic effects of counseling are linear functions of time. A new method is described in which sessions are scheduled in a nonlinear manner, because both the need for counseling and the retention of therapeutic effects are often nonlinear functions of time. An example of such a schedule, derived from work in addiction treatment, is presented. This particular method is called the relapse-sensitive schedule.