DURATION AND OUTCOME IN PSYCHOTHERAPY - AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Research and practice trends are fueling a vigorous interest in brief therapy, highlighting the question of the relationship between treatment duration and outcome. A number of investigations have reported a weak or nonexistent relationship between duration and outcome, yielding the possible conclusion that there are few differences between brief and longer term treatments. A finer-grained analysis, however, based on such methodological factors as the nature, source, and timing of outcome measures, reveals intriguing dose-effect linkages within particular helping modalities. Summarizing process and outcome research, this article identifies potential client, therapist, and contextual mediators of the brevity of treatment. Recent research concerning stages of change within psychotherapy is advanced as an integrative framework that yields researchable hypotheses concerning the factors that facilitate outcomes at various points in the helping process.