Not every therapeutic process needs to begin without a defined duration. At certain moments, a person may be facing a specific issue, an important decision, or a clearly delimited difficulty that calls for listening, understanding, and reflection within a more concentrated period.
Brief therapy is a form of psychological treatment organized around a previously defined focus. It does not aim to address every aspect of a person’s life, but rather to create the conditions for understanding and working through a central issue that is causing distress, conflict, or difficulty.
Brevity does not mean superficiality. It refers to defining the focus, not simplifying the experience.
What is brief therapy?
Brief therapy is a process with more clearly defined objectives and an initially agreed duration. Sessions generally take place weekly, and the process may unfold over approximately 10 to 16 sessions, although the exact number depends on the situation presented and on how the work develops.The work seeks to understand how a particular difficulty manifests itself, which conflicts are involved, and how the person may participate—often without realizing it—in situations that repeat throughout their life.Although there is an initial focus, this does not mean that the listening process is restricted to the most obvious aspects of the problem. An apparently specific issue may reveal deeper conflicts, expectations, and ways of relating.
Who may benefit from brief therapy?
Brief therapy may be suitable when there is a relatively identifiable issue, such as:
- a professional or personal decision;
- difficulties at work;
- conflicts in a relationship;
- periods of change or transition;
- anxiety associated with a specific situation;
- difficulties adapting;
- exhaustion or overload;
- the repetition of a specific problem;
- the need to understand a situation before making a decision.
It may be especially useful when a person recognizes that something needs to be thought through but is still unable to organize on their own what they are experiencing.
The question is not only “How can I solve this problem?” but also “What does this situation reveal about the way I am living, choosing, or relating to others?”
When might it not be the best choice?
Brief therapy may be insufficient when the distress is related to longstanding conflicts, recurring patterns present in different areas of life, or issues that require broader work without a previously established time frame.It may also not be the most appropriate approach when a person is unable to identify a central issue and feels the need to understand their history, relationships, desires, and recurring patterns in a more open-ended way.In these cases, psychoanalysis or longer-term psychotherapy may make more sense.
The person does not need to make this decision in advance.
The choice of format can be developed during the first sessions, based on what emerges in the conversation and on the nature of the issue presented.
What is the difference between brief therapy and individual psychoanalysis?
The main difference lies in the framework of the work. In brief therapy, a primary focus and an initially defined period are established. The process seeks to understand and work through a specific issue, without preventing deeper aspects of the experience from emerging.In individual psychoanalysis, the process is more open-ended. There is not necessarily a single theme or a previously defined duration. The listening follows the associations, conflicts, desires, and repetitions that emerge over the course of the process. Psychoanalysis may allow issues that initially seem secondary, or are not yet known, to find space to emerge and be worked through.Neither modality is absolutely better than the other. Each responds to different needs, moments, and possibilities.
Neither modality is absolutely better than the other. Each responds to different needs, moments, and possibilities.
Brief therapy and psychoanalysis
Brief therapy can be conducted from a psychoanalytic perspective. This means that, even with a previously defined focus and a more limited duration, the listening takes into account unconscious conflicts, repetitions, ways of relating, and meanings that go beyond the most immediate explanation of the problem. The aim is not merely to eliminate a symptom or find a quick solution, but to understand what a particular situation reveals about the way a person desires, chooses, positions themselves, and relates to others.
How is the focus defined?
The focus should not be imposed by the therapist or reduced to a rigid goal. It is developed together, based on the issue that led the person to seek therapy.For example, someone may come in saying that they want to change jobs. Over the course of the conversations, it may become clear that the difficulty lies not only in the professional decision itself, but also in the fear of disappointing others, the need for recognition, or the repetition of choices that lead to dissatisfaction.Similarly, a person may seek help because of conflicts in a relationship and realize that the issue also involves difficulty setting boundaries, expressing desires, or tolerating the possibility of displeasing others.The initial focus guides the work, but it may gain greater depth as the experience is put into words.
What can be achieved through a brief process?
Brief therapy can help a person to:
- better understand the conflict they are experiencing;
- recognize patterns of behavior and relationships;
- name feelings that were not yet clear;
- perceive alternatives that had previously been invisible;
- make decisions more consciously;
- develop new ways of positioning themselves in a particular situation;
- identify inner resources for dealing with periods of change;
- understand the meaning of certain repetitions.
The aim is not to offer ready-made answers, advice, or formulas for behavior. The work seeks to expand the person’s capacity to understand and work through what is happening.
A decision may change when the conflict underlying it becomes clearer.
Can brief therapy produce lasting change?
A limited duration does not prevent significant changes from taking place. When a person is able to recognize a pattern, understand a conflict, or find a new way of positioning themselves, the effects of the process may remain after the sessions have ended.At the same time, brief therapy does not aim to resolve every issue in a person’s psychological life. Its scope is related to the focus that has been established and to what can be worked through within that framework.In some cases, the brief process is sufficient. In others, it may reveal the desire or need to continue with broader work.
How can you know whether this modality makes sense for you?
This choice can be made during an initial conversation. In this first meeting, we seek to understand what led you to look for therapy, what the main issue is, and which type of process may be most appropriate.You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis, an organized explanation, or certainty about the type of therapy you want. The conversation itself can help clarify what is happening.
What, at this moment, is asking to be understood?
In some cases, brief therapy will be sufficient. In others, the conversation may indicate the need for a more open and in-depth process.
Initial conversation
The initial conversation lasts 30 minutes and is free of charge, with no obligation. It is a space for you to share what you are experiencing, learn about the way I work, and consider together which path may make the most sense.
Each moment in life may call for a different kind of listening.
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