Abstract
In recent years, there has been increasing attention to the development of various specific models of psychotherapy, their different therapeutic approaches, their putative relative benefits vs. other (competing) psychotherapy models, and the patient case mix best served by each model. Clinical and research interest in the differential approaches, techniques, and clinical applications among the various psychotherapy models remains strong. As a result, a contemporary challenge has emerged in the rigorous assessment of “which psychotherapy” accomplished by “which psychotherapist” is indicated to treat “the right psychiatric illness” in “the right patient.” Coming from a traditional psychodynamic approach—as many psychiatry residency programs and departments do—a question has resultantly emerged regarding the proper role for psychodynamic psychotherapy, particularly when compared with numerous other, often more contemporary, psychotherapy models.
It is especially compelling, therefore, to encounter a truly original, innovative contemporary text that focuses specifically on short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, in particular, and its specific features and techniques. This new text, Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, written by Alan Eppel, M.D., of McMaster University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, makes a seminal contribution to the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy. This essential volume is a tightly focused, concise, yet wonderfully detailed and referenced text on the history, development, therapeutic technique, and application of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in the contemporary clinical care delivery system.
Dr. Eppel embarks on this journey with a remarkably detailed account of the history and development of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy as a “derivative” of the more classic, Freudian (and other schools) approach of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. Somewhat revolutionary, even somewhat controversial, at the time of its development, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy has nonetheless earned its “place at the table” among various psychotherapy models. Dr. Eppel cites the major figures in attachment theory as well as in short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in rendering a narrative of the development of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy that clearly defines the model and places it in the proper historical, scientific, and clinical context.
Subsequent chapters are devoted to the actual operation of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. Dr. Eppel adds enrichment to the text with illustrative, cogent case narratives that capture the more “active and engaged” psychotherapist stance needed in accomplishing prompt therapeutic engagement, ongoing interpretative work, and the critical areas of goal setting and management that are essential to short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. This addition greatly helps the reader to see “how it is done.”
Throughout, Dr. Eppel’s engaging narrative writing style is always a delight to read. The evidence is fairly presented and interpreted in a balanced way. The challenging area of psychotherapy outcomes study—an area not without controversy, stoked by the parochial interests championing “their” favoured model—is summarized in notable detail in a manner that reflects a balanced approach, even as Dr. Eppel vigorously advocates for the proper place and role of the short-term psychodynamic model.
Dr. Eppel’s book reflects his own long experience in short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy and its application to a wide range of patients with various psychiatric illnesses. He emphasizes the need for a motivated patient, with a demonstrated capacity for both therapeutic engagement and self-reflection, working with a well-trained, empathically attuned, well-supervised, and “active” psychotherapist to make the most efficient use of the engagement, attachment, goal-orientation, and outcomes-sensitive brief psychodynamic psychotherapy model. Dr. Eppel makes the compelling case that, for the well-chosen patient, a course of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy may even be the most cost-effective model of psychotherapy, so that even efficiency and outcomes-oriented health care systems should prioritize making short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy available for those patients most likely to derive great benefit from this specific model.
This book is essential for any psychiatrist or other health professional interested in the history and technique of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. The fact that Dr. Eppel has distilled this important topic into just over 200 pages demonstrates (and serves as an illustrative metaphor for) the great insight that can be gained from a “short-term book on short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy.” This must-read is the definitive work on this topic for our time.
