Brief therapy in adult psychiatry

Macdonald, Alasdair

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6427.1994.00806.x

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Our team has practised solutionfocused brief therapy in the context of adult mental health for six years. In a previous study of our first three years' work (Macdonald, 1994), we reported a good outcome for 70% of our referrals and we now report results from a further cohort of referrals seen over a subsequent three-year period.…”

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confidence: 57%

Brief Therapy in Adult Psychiatry – Further Outcomes

Macdonald¹

1997

Journal of Family Therapy

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A report of a one-year follow-up of thirty-six referrals treated with solutionfocused brief therapy by a supervised team in a mental health setting is described. A good outcome was reported for twenty-three cases (64%). These results are comparable with our previous work and with one other statistically validated outcome study on solution-focused therapy. IntroductionAs financial stringency begins to affect healthcare in all countries, there is an increasing need for outcome studies in order to guide the work of individual practitioners and to allow rational decisions about expenditure on services. Our team has practised solutionfocused brief therapy in the context of adult mental health for six years. In a previous study of our first three years' work (Macdonald, 1994), we reported a good outcome for 70% of our referrals and we now report results from a further cohort of referrals seen over a subsequent three-year period. Therapeutic approachWe work as a multi-disciplinary team using live supervision for both trainees and experienced therapists. We serve a scattered rural population and usually see attenders once a month. Our referrals come from general practitioners and colleagues in the mental health services. The team does not act as the first point of contact for those with an acute psychosis but all other referrals are seen at least once. The problems presented by our attenders are similar to those seen at local psychiatric outpatient clinics.A letter is sent to all referrals describing the team approach and a Consultant Psychiatrist/Psychotherapist, Garlands Hospital, Carlisle CA1 3SX, UK. notifying them of their rights in relation to videotaping. This follows the suggestions of Birch (1990) about the value of presession contacts and consent procedures in setting a context for therapy. The letter invites clients to contact us for an appointment and suggests that they will have started making changes before they see us. We send a written copy of the closing intervention to the attenders after each session which reinforces our comments during the interval between meetings and is generally appreciated by attenders.We use a solution-focused brief therapy model (de Shazer, 1994;Macdonald, 1994). Sessions revolve around goals chosen by the attenders. Exceptions to the existing problem are emphasized in discussion, and scaling of problems from 1-10 is used to provide a neutral way of assessing change and to assist discussion about small steps on the way to the goal. The 'miracle question': 'What if a miracle happens and the problem is solved?' is used to develop a picture of a new and better future towards which attenders can move. Follow-up designAs in our 1994 study, we sent follow-up questionnaires by post to attenders and their general practitioners one year after their last session (see Appendix). The questions were derived from Watzlawick et al. (1974) andde Shazer (1985) and sought information about the problem, goal achievement, any new problems and any further advice sought from other professionals. Com...

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confidence: 57%

Brief Therapy in Adult Psychiatry – Further Outcomes

Macdonald¹

1997

Journal of Family Therapy

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“…Clients who came to more sessions reported better outcomes. Like many of the studies on SFT (Iveson, 1991; Macdonald, 1994, 1997; De Jong & Hopwood, 1996), it concerned adult clients and had no control group.…”

Section: Outcome Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief Solution Focused Therapy

Lethem

2002

Child Adoles Ment Health

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This paper introduces the development of, and the key assumptions and practices associated with, Brief Solution Focused Therapy (SFT). Therapist and client collaborate to clarify the best ways to build on existing strengths and resources in order to move toward a future that the client would prefer. The benefits of this approach for children, adolescents, their carers and teachers, are highlighted. Recent developments in the practice of SFT are outlined.

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“…Although earlier studies consisted of uncontrolled follow-ups of heterogeneous samples (Burr, 1993;de Shazer, 1985de Shazer, , 1991George, Iveson & Ratner, 1990;Macdonald, 1994), much of the later research used stringent designs and standardized instruments on well-defined, homogeneous samples (Cockburn, Thomas, & Cockburn, 1997;Lindforss & Magnusson, 1997;Knekt & Linfors, 2004). Numerous single case studies have also been published in the last several years.…”

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confidence: 99%

Solution-Focused Therapy with Depressed Deaf Persons

Estrada

Beyebach

2007

Journal of Family Psychotherapy

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In this study, we present encouraging preliminary results on the application of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) to a special population. In a multiple case design, solution-focused therapy was used to treat three profoundly prelocutive deaf persons suffering from depression. The level of depression was assessed using a carefully validated adaptation of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II); the treatment was manualized, and treatment integrity was assessed throughout all the therapy sessions. In all three cases, the BDI scores improved significantly; clients moved out of the clinical range. Therapy was brief, ranging from four to eight sessions over a maximum of 4.5 months. Limitations of the study and future implications are also discussed.

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Brief therapy in adult psychiatry

Cited by 15 publications

References 6 publications

Brief Therapy in Adult Psychiatry – Further Outcomes

Brief Therapy in Adult Psychiatry – Further Outcomes

Brief Solution Focused Therapy

Solution-Focused Therapy with Depressed Deaf Persons

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